Promises Broken
by kayleecal
Summary: AU ending for New Moon. After months of suffering Edward finally gives in to the need to see Bella. He returns the day of her fateful jump from the LaPush cliff. It's Edward who's waiting, rather than Alice, when Jacob brings Bella home. Edward's POV.
1. Chapter 1

I could hear his thoughts

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

Chapter One

Edward's Point of View

I spent the flight from South America to Los Angeles planning to get on another plane to some place, any place, where Bella wouldn't be. Before I left, I had given in to the intense need to see her … just to see her. I had no intentions of talking to her or letting her know in any other way that I was there. But on the plane, my guilt got the better of me. How on God's earth was I going to hear her voice or see her face and NOT hold her in my arms? No, I had made a promise to never haunt her life again and I would keep it. This had been a close call but I wouldn't fail her again. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, I headed for the ticket counter to change my next flight to some destination other than Seattle. I had to pass by the gate for that flight to Seattle. I tried to pass by the gate for my Seattle flight. My feet stopped walking of their own volition and I sat to wait through the short layover, hating myself the entire time.

I arrived in Seattle in the very early morning. The weather was overcast so there would be no need to wait out the day in the airport. I sighed. I had really missed this place and the freedom it afforded my kind. I rented a car and headed for Forks. For an average driver, it would take more than three hours. For me, it would be much less. I used the time to decide how I would proceed, since it seemed impossible to prevent myself from this madness.

I would leave this car at the house on the river, my home, and then go on foot to Bella's. I would get close enough to hear Charlie's thoughts, still not close enough to catch Bella's scent, and then I would wait. Charlie always thought of Bella, worried about Bella. He was a good and loving father to her. I could imagine that he would not be thrilled that I was back. I also imagined that he would hold me responsible for a very painful event in Bella's life. He would be right, of course, but it wouldn't matter. He would never know I was here.

I would make up my mind what to do next after that. I just had to keep my head. No matter how strong the temptation, I would not allow her to catch sight of me. I would see that she was well. I would see that she was happy. I would see that she had adjusted well to my absence and then I would go. I never allowed myself to consider that she might not be well or happy or adjusted. It was too unlikely. She was so young and she was human. She would have been terribly hurt when I left but I knew she would have gotten over me by now. That thought brought a painful squeeze to my long dormant heart.

I followed my plan. I came just close enough and then I sat to wait. A fallen log was near and it provided a perfect resting place. I concentrated on breathing while I waited. I was so close to her now. She was within miles. Whether she was at home or not, she was within running distance from me. I could be with her in moments. I slammed THAT door in my head closed immediately.

Someone was near to the house, I saw it his mind. It wasn't Charlie. It was a mind I had seen before, though. Jacob Black. He was with her. Bella was right there in the truck with him. I saw her hand in his. My mind was too focused on the possibility of seeing her face to comprehend what their joined hands could mean. "Look at her face!" I was shouting in my mind.

He turned his head to his right and there she was. Bella. My beautiful Bella. My breath caught painfully in my chest. She did not look well. She looked tired and drawn. Her face was too pale. The skin around her eyes was much too dark. She had lost weight.

Jacob parked the truck.

I could hear his thoughts. He was demanding patience from himself. _Be patient. She will come around. She will love me. She will heal. A little longer and she will forget him. _He was demanding patience but he wasn't listening to himself. He was going to kiss her. He was already kissing her.

I was on my feet and moving towards them before I could stop myself. I couldn't think clearly through the fury.

Then I heard her voice in his head. "Jake …"

He stopped her mouth again with his.

I was still moving towards them but more slowly now. Bella's voice in my mind. Another man's name but still her voice. A voice I had not heard in six tortured months.

She tried again. "Jacob … stop! I don't want this. I can't. I'm sorry!" There were tears in her voice. Pain radiated from her eyes.

I stopped walking and listened. I was close enough now to hear for myself. Car doors opened and closed. I heard her retreat towards the house. He was following her. In his mind, he was cursing himself for impatience. "Bella, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself … you have to know how I feel."

"I wish I could make you happy, Jake. I really do. You deserve to have what you want. I owe you that much … but I can't. There isn't anything left inside of me, Jake. H..he took it all with him." She wept as she spoke. "You deserve more than I have to give. You deserve more than what's left of me."

My emotions were a confusing jumble of despair and elation. She was in obvious agony … but she still mourned me. She had not gotten over me. I could end her pain. I could put her back together. I was the only one who could do that. But I was the one who had broken her in the first place.

Jacob's thoughts interrupted my confusion. He felt hatred for me. Pure furious hate. He couldn't believe that she could still love someone who had hurt her so badly. He was disgusted that she could love a filthy bloodsucker. I saw images then … images that brought me to my knees. Bella, the day I had left her, lying on the floor of the dark forest, curled into a ball, unresponsive. Bella, thin and gaunt, black circles under her empty eyes trying to pretend to smile. Bella with her arms wrapped around herself trying to keep herself from breaking apart. Bella's scream as she leapt from a cliff into the roiling sea below. I heard him remember his anguish at that … his panic. I saw his memory of pulling her from the surf. I saw his belief that he had been too late … that she was dead. I saw … very nearly felt … his anger at me for driving her to it.

I realized that this last image was recent. This memory was from today … only hours ago. Had Bella tried to take her own life today because of me? I silently cursed myself for feeling any satisfaction because she had not forgotten me.

My fault. All of her pain, all of her suffering, was my fault. She had been in agony and I had abandoned her to it.

I heard Jacob's voice then, "You don't owe me anything, Bells. You never promised me anything. I just need you to know how I feel … I need you to know that it's not going to change. I will still be here when you're ready. And I promise that I'll try to be more patient. But I nearly lost you today … I just lost my perspective for a minute." He was mentally cursing himself for pushing her. He was afraid he would push her away.

"I don't know, Jake. I can't see myself ever being ready for that. There are parts of me that are just gone. Pieces that aren't going to heal or grow back. I'm sorry," she whispered.

A breeze passed over them and, after a moment, touched me. Bella's scent filled my head. Freesia. It did not affect me as I expected it would. Thirst did not slam into me. There was no desire to kill, no desire to feed … calm settled into me instead. The feeling that I had come home. I breathed it in and savored it. I sighed with pleasure.

Then the scent of the other drifted to me. Jacob's scent was strong and unmistakable.

Werewolf.

I was on my feet again and running this time. Bella was in danger. Bella was in close proximity to a werewolf and that werewolf was upset.

I suddenly feared that he would catch my scent and immediately transform but nature seemed to be on my side … I was downwind from them. I was in sight of the house when I heard his voice again.

"It's okay, Bells. It really is. Don't torture yourself. I just don't want to close the door yet. Okay?" he pleaded with her. His thoughts were a tangle of things he wanted to say to her but couldn't put into words.

Then his thoughts became suddenly clear. A single word flew into the forefront of his mind.

_Vampire! _

"Crap, Bella. Get back in the car!" he roared at her.

"What is it, Jake?" she said.

"There's a vampire. I smell it!" he hissed.

I could see them now. Jake was practically vibrating, he was shaking so violently. Bella's back was to me. I walked towards them slowly. It was too late to rethink this. I had to get her away from him. I had to make sure she would not be hurt.

Jake saw me and froze. He looked at Bella's face for a moment before moving his eyes back to me. His shock quickly became rage. He backed away from Bella as his body began to shift.

"Jake, are you okay?" she said as she took a step towards him.

"Bella, no!" I heard my own voice speaking to her.

She froze but she did not turn around. I expected her to look at me. I expected to see her eyes accuse me of every crime I had committed against her. But she didn't turn. She didn't acknowledge my voice at all.

"Jake," she said, "Calm down. You can't ride with me if you're gonna get all wolfy. You won't fit in the truck."

Jake was breathing in great lung fulls of air as he glared at me. His trembling had lessoned. His thoughts were clear. He was thinking of Bella's safety. He was also thinking of my death but he had decided that Bella's safety was more important.

"Bella," I called again softly.

This time she did turn. She seemed to be following the line of Jake's glaring eyes – trying to determine if the danger was already here. It still seemed to me that she had not heard my voice.

Then she saw me. For a moment her face lit up like the sun. Every cell in my body was warmed by her glow. She smiled serenely for a moment and sighed. Then she took a deep breath and turned back to Jacob.

"Okay, Jake. Do you hear anything? Is the scent … fresh? I guess it doesn't matter. We should go. Will you come back with Sam? You won't come alone?" she said as she moved toward Jacob. Her voice was calmer than before but the fear in it was evident.

Jacob looked her for a moment in confusion and then he grinned at me mockingly. He thought she was ignoring me, rejecting me. He thought she was choosing him over me. He obviously had not seen the expression of love on her face when she turned to me. While I knew she wasn't ignoring me, I could not imagine why she was acting this way now.

Jacob took her hand and led her towards the car. "It's okay. We'll go back to La Push and I'll stay with you," he said. "He won't cross the boundary line. You won't have to see him again."

"See who, Jake?" she asked. Her voice was confused. I couldn't fathom what she must be thinking.

I began to approach them slowly, carefully. I could not let him take her away. Even though he seemed in control of himself he was still dangerous to her. Other reasons were there swirling in my brain. Other reasons that I couldn't express without some shame. I could not allow him to take her from me. From ME. She was mine and it had been too long since I had seen her face … heard her voice. Selfish as it was, I would not allow her absence from my life to continue for another moment.

They were halfway back to the car from the house when Bella stopped. "Who, Jacob? Who won't I have to see again?" she asked.

Jacob saw me moving forward and tugged on Bella's arm, trying to move her forward and away from me. I felt rage course through me. Jacob began to tremble, his body yearning for its other form.

"Jacob," I said. "Calm yourself. You would hurt her before you could touch me."

"I won't hurt her," Jacob hissed. "That's your department."

Bella gasped. She turned to me again, her eyes wide with disbelief. Then her face contorted into a mask of confusion and pain. She squeezed her eyes shut against the sight of me and turned her head slightly towards her shoulder. After a seemingly endless moment, her eyelids lifted slowly and her eyes slid back to me reluctantly. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"EEE … Edward?" she gasped, her voice barely a whisper. Her face went whiter than her normal pale and I knew what would happen next. I moved towards her more quickly now, intending to catch her before she hit the ground. Her eyes rolled slightly and her body began to crumple.

There was a ripping sound and then the wolf that had been Jacob Black suddenly stood with his head over Bella. She was lying on the ground and I caught the scent of her blood. My eyes went over her still form anxiously. I saw streaks of blood running down her hand, the hand that a moment ago had been firmly within Jacob's grasp.

Jacob stepped carefully over Bella's inert body so that he stood directly over her, his intent clearly to keep me at bay. I heard the snarl emanating from my chest before I realized that I was making the sound. Jacob's answering growl was just as fierce. I moved to circle him and he moved away from Bella but continued to shield her from me with his body. He did not want her near the coming brawl any more than I did. This should have calmed me but it did not. He was standing between me and Bella. There was no calm for me while knowing that.

"Move away from her, Jacob," I growled. "You have injured her. I will not allow you to injure her further."

Jacob looked back at Bella for a moment. He saw the blood and inwardly cringed. He looked back at me with the clear thought, _"Still not as badly as you did, Bloodsucker_."

"I had my reasons for leaving, none of them your concern. Leave now so that I can see to her wounds." I kept my voice as calm as I could manage.

Jacob swore in his head and then thought, _"You can't really believe that I would leave her with a filthy bloodsucker while she has an open wound. Get serious. You leave. And don't come back. You've caused her enough pain."_

My answer was a snarl.

Jacob thought, "_Have it your way. Suits me JUST fine."_ Through Jacob I began to hear other voices at that point … other wolves. They were telling him to wait. The treaty would be broken. Telling him that I had never hurt Bella before, why would I do so now? Only two of his pack brothers were in wolf form and they were under orders to stay on the reservation until the leader returned. They would not be joining us.

"Listen to your pack, Jacob," I whispered. "You won't win this."

Jacob lunged at me, his sharp teeth snapping. I narrowly avoided his assault. He had not thought before he leapt at me, he had only reacted to my words. He fell back for a moment before stalking towards me again. He was thinking ahead now and that was all I needed.

Every move he made, I countered. I was never the aggressor. I didn't have to be. Jacob came to me. I could have hurt him. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to kill him but the reminder of the treaty was fresh in my mind. His death would not just condemn me but also my family. They would never be able to return to this beloved place.

Jacob stopped his assault and stared at me. _"Why don't you fight?"_ he thought.

"I won't break the treaty unless absolutely necessary. And I won't hurt Bella by hurting you." Bella's words to him earlier … "You deserve to have what you want. I owe you that much" … echoed in my mind. He meant something to her. She didn't want him hurt.

I heard a moan. Bella was waking up. Jacob pleaded with me in his mind, _"Leave now, before she wakes up. She won't recover from this. She won't recover from you. She's just starting to heal. Don't rip her up again."_

"No. I will never leaver her again."

Jacob lunged at me again. I was barely fast enough that time, his teeth missed by a fraction of a second.

Then I heard Bella's garbled cry. "Jacob! Stop!"

She was scrambling towards us. Still not steady on her feet, she fell to the ground but continued towards us in a crawl.

"Please. Please. Please. Don't hurt each other!" she begged.

In his shock, Jacob let her pass by him. She was trying to stand between us but she was near enough for me to grab her arm. In a flash, I had her behind me.

Jacob's mind was filled with a string of profanities. He took a step towards us.

"Think about it, Jake. She's awake now and not likely to stay out of it." I reasoned with him.

"Jake, Stop." Bella said as she tried to move around me towards him. I held her firmly behind me.

"_Let her go, leech!"_ Jake's thoughts were a snarl.

"I will not let her pass. I will not allow you to touch her again. You have injured her already. It will not happen again."

"Edward," Bella murmured to me, "He won't hurt me. My hand was an accident."

"Accidents happen without plan, Bella. You don't know that it won't happen again and neither do I." I had no intention of finding out for certain.

Jacob watched us intently while to trying to work out a plan of action. He saw that I was right, Bella would put herself in danger to prevent a fight. He saw that the only sane thing to do was for one of us, him or me, to leave.

"It won't be me," I stated simply. "Never again."

"Never again, what?" Bella asked. "It won't be you to do what? What is Jake thinking? Why are you here, Edward?" I heard tears beginning to saturate her voice.

I wished I could turn to her. I needed to see her face but with Jacob so close I dared not take my eyes from him. He had a penchant for acting without thinking first. I could not risk it. "Bella, I need to speak with you alone. I will explain everything but it is not a conversation that I wish to have with an audience."

"If I leave, will you be here when I get back." There was stark fear in her voice.

"If you were to leave, I would wait here for you or I would follow you. That, however, is a moot point. You are not leaving. Not with Jacob, in any case."

She was silent for a moment. "Edward, the only accident that might happen is if Jake changes and I'm too close. He's already changed and I am not too close. Please, let me talk to him alone. He won't be reasonable with you here. You should understand that … you aren't being reasonable with him here, either."

I smiled begrudgingly, though she couldn't see it.

"I'm sure that you are right, love, but I can't risk it. I simply cannot." I heard a little sigh from behind me and I felt her hands come to rest on my back. A thrill raced through me at her casual touch. I wanted very much to turn and take her into my arms, only to hold her, but I could not with the wolf glaring at me only a few feet away. I glared back at him defiantly.

"All right, then," she said, "let me around you. You'll still be close enough should there be a need. I'll be right there in front of you. You know that Jake won't try anything if there's a danger to me. Please Edward, listen to me this once."

I thought for a moment. There were few other options and none of them seemed worthy of attempt. Even if I snatched her up and ran, Jacob could follow our scent. He would find us wherever I took her.

I loosened my hold on her. "Do not try to move farther away than the extent of my reach, love. I won't allow that."

Bella patted my back and walked slowly around me. She stopped and stood with her back to my chest. Still close enough that I could have pressed my face into her hair, something I very much wanted to do.

"Jake," Bella began, "I really need to talk to him alone. He won't hurt me," she pleaded softly.

Jacob shook his head from side to side. He was thinking of the pain that she had been through in the last six months. Remembering more than I could bear to see. Remembering months of silence from her before she came to see him. Remembering motorcycles, wandering in the woods looking for a meadow, Laurent's much deserved death in that meadow, Victoria stalking Bella, jumping off cliffs … I snarled under my breath. Victoria.

"What?" Bella looked back at me curiously.

"Jacob just has a very good memory, Bella. It's all right."

She continued to watch me suspiciously for a moment before turning back to Jacob.

"Please Jake. I need this. You know I won't be able let him go again unless I know why he came. You know I won't. It won't take long and then he'll leave me alone." Her voice cracked on those last words.

My heart broke for her. I met the wolf's eyes. Even if she believed that I would leave, Jacob knew differently.

She continued to reason with Jacob, "Maybe you can prevent it today, Jake, but not tomorrow or the day after. You know I won't let you stop me. You know I need him."

The wolf groaned. He looked at her for a moment, silently acknowledging her stubbornness. He was suddenly angry at her. Anger and hurt blazed through him. She had chosen me after all.

I wrapped my arm around Bella's waist, ready to pull her behind me again, but there was no need. Jacob bolted for the trees. His thoughts clear to me as he left, _"Tell her I'm sorry." _He was sorry for leaving. Sorry that she loved me. Sorry that she wanted me more than she cared for him. Sorry he was going to break his promise.

Then he was gone.

Page 9 of 9


	2. Chapter 2

I watched with some regret as Jacob Black disappeared into the forest

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

I watched with some regret as Jacob Black disappeared into the forest. He had, after all, looked after Bella when I did not. He had saved her life more than once while I was absent. I had left her to suffer through emotional torture and physical danger. The wolf had been here when she needed him. He had earned her loyalty … her love. I certainly did not deserve either of those treasures. I did not deserve even a stray glance from Bella.

Bella.

MY Bella.

Regardless of what Jacob had earned, Bella was mine. I would again stake my claim and I would fight with everything in me to keep her. I regretted his undeserved pain but I could not feel guilt over it. No matter how he felt about her … no matter how she wanted to feel about him … Jacob was only a substitute for me while I was away. Now I was back to stay and he was no longer needed. Despite my good intentions, I could see that leaving Bella had done nothing but cause her pain. I had been so wrong to believe that she couldn't love me as deeply as I loved her. That belief was the gravest error of my life. She and I were incomplete without each other. We belonged together. I might have been able to deny that fact to myself while I was apart from her but now, feeling whole for the first time since that awful day last September, I knew without doubt that Bella was my other half. I remembered her words to Jacob, "There isn't anything left inside of me … he took it all with him." Neither she nor I would ever be complete without the other.

I looked down to find her still standing with her back to my chest. Her body was not touching mine but there were only centimeters between us. After so many months of separation, Bella was actually close enough for me to touch her. I could smell her strawberry shampoo and her natural sweet scent. I lowered my head and buried my face into the crook of her neck while inhaling deeply. I snaked my arms around her waist and held her to me as tightly as I dared. "Bella …" I whispered into her hair. I felt her stiffen in my arms.

"Bella?" I whispered again.

She struggled in my arms for a moment before I released her. She stood with her back to me for a few seconds before squaring her shoulders and turning to face me. Her eyes were full of tears and her chin was quivering. "Why are you here, Edward?"

"For you," I said simply.

She turned away from me so that I was now watching her profile. She looked down at her feet and let her curtain of hair fall to cover the side of her face. I reached to tuck her hair behind her ear but she flinched away when she felt my touch.

"I'm not your responsibility, Edward. You don't have to check up on me. There's no need for you to feel guilty about the way things turned out."

"You still love me," I stated with certainty. "You told Jacob …"

She let a small sob escape her lips.

"It doesn't matter what I feel or don't feel for you, Edward. It would just be better for me not to see you. It will make things worse for me in the long run," she said as she clenched her tiny fists. She hissed in pain and held up the hand that Jacob had injured. The cuts across the top of her wrist were now bleeding freely. Bella put her other hand over her nose and mouth and looked at me in panic. Her skin looked green.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I know this makes you uncomfortable," she said through her fingers. "Please, just go. I'll be fine. Go back to your life and just let me be."

I looked at her incredulously. "Bella, you know me better than that. Do you think I would leave you while you're injured and ready to pass out from the smell of your own blood?" I would have expected to be 'uncomfortable' with her blood but I wasn't bothered at all. I would have to discuss that with Carlisle later.

"I used to think that I knew you, Edward. I know now that you were always a stranger to me," she whispered.

I nearly choked on the pain of hearing that statement coming from her sweet lips. She loved me, I had no doubt of that, but she had lost all faith in me. I was frozen for a moment and then the smell of her blood regained my attention.

"Bella, you and I have a great deal to discuss but first you need medical attention and I intend to make sure that you receive it." With that, I scooped her up and took off running.

"Edward! Where are we going?" Bella shouted at me.

"We are going to my car and then to the hospital. I think you need stitches. At the very least, you'll need a tetnis shot."

"Edward, put me down. I don't need to go to the ER. I can just wrap this up tight and it will be fine. I just had a tetnis shot the last time I …" she began before deciding to keep her last visit to the ER to herself.

"You're going," I said softly. "No arguments."

Bella looked up at me with a scowl on her beautiful face. As angry was she was, she was still adorable to me and I smiled sweetly back at her. I knew that I deserved her anger. I should have expected her distrust. The last words that I had spoken to her were blatant lies but she had all the proof she needed to believe them when I left her and didn't come back. I had been an idiot and now was time to reap the rewards. She still loved me, I knew that. I could see it in her eyes. I could win back her trust. I would do whatever it took. If I had to spend the next ten years proving my faithfulness, I would gladly commit to that and more. I would watch over her every moment. I would make sure that she had every thing that she needed. I would never let her feel abandoned again.

Bella met my smile with a roll of her eyes. With her lips pressed firmly together, she looked as though she was struggling to suppress a smile of her own. That made me smile wider. With that she looked down at her injured hand lying on her stomach and refused to meet my eyes again until we reached the car. I quickly settled her into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. I was in the driver's seat and fishtailing onto the road before she could even consider trying to leave the car.

"Edward! Slow down!" she shrieked.

"Bella, the faster I drive, the faster you get to the hospital. The faster you get to the hospital, the more quickly I can take you somewhere we can talk. We really need to talk," I said earnestly.

"We don't have anything to talk about," she said sullenly. Her voice and her face showed annoyance but her lips quivered.

"We have everything to talk about, Bella!" I stated emphatically.

"Why don't you see? Why can't you understand that this will just make it harder for me? I was getting past things. I was starting to be able to function through an entire day. Maybe I would even start sleeping through the night soon. Now, when you leave again, I'll just have to start over. Do you want to torture me, Edward? Is that fun for you? Are you bored with your distractions so you came back to watch clumsy Bella fall down some more?" Her bitterness was palpable.

"Bella," I said softly, "I promise you that you'll understand after we have a chance to talk. I don't know if you'll forgive me but you will at least know the truth about why I'm here and why I left in the first place. Please, just be patient for a little while. I don't want to start that conversation until I know we'll be able to finish it without interruption."

"The truth about why you left?" she asked warily. "What other truth is there except what you've already said?"

"After you've seen a doctor, love. I promise I will explain everything," I said as I turned to look into her watery eyes. She didn't turn away this time. She just looked back at me fearfully.

We turned into the parking lot of the hospital and I hopped out to help Bella into the emergency entrance. I intended to carry her but was stopped by the glare on her lovely face.

"I can walk Edward. There is nothing wrong with my legs," she declared.

"Fine. But even when you're not suffering from blood loss, you have a tendency to lose track of you feet. I'm staying close, just in case," I teased.

"Umph!" Bella snorted at me.

My grin just grew. Bella didn't look hurt or angry anymore. She just looked supremely annoyed. As far as I was concerned, that was progress.

The receptionist was totally incompetent and refused to page a doctor to see Bella. Bella refused to let me make demands on her behalf or to 'dazzle' the inept woman into submission. The receptionist promised that as soon as the doctor on duty was free that Bella would be the next patient so we sat to wait. I wished that I had called my family as soon as I decided to return. Carlisle would have probably already been here. He had worried greatly about the medical care that Bella would receive in his absence and would waste no time in returning to assess and repair the lingering damage by less effective medical professionals.

It was while we were sitting there that I caught the scent of werewolf. A growl erupted from deep in my chest.

"What's wrong?" asked Bella.

"Werewolf," I snarled.

"Crap," Bella said. "I forgot. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack today. The whole pack is probably here. Charlie, too. Crap, crap, crap. If Charlie sees you, I don't know what he'll do."

"Bella, we really need to discuss the influence of the company you have been keeping. Your language has gone to hell," I needled her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "I'm not joking, Edward. Charlie will be livid if he sees you. He'll be beyond furious if he sees you with ME."

"We're not leaving until you see a doctor, Bella," I asserted firmly.

"Fine. I'll see a doctor. I promise that I will wait until I've been treated for this scratch," she said derisively. "Maybe you should leave, though. I don't need a scene right now. Neither does Charlie. Harry's one of his best friends."

"I can't do that, Bella. I need to know that you're all right."

"You haven't known whether or not I was all right for more than six months! It shouldn't make any difference to you NOW," she nearly shouted. She took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry. It's just not necessary for you to be here. I don't want you to be inconvenienced for me. There's no reason for it. You've checked on me. You've seen that I'm as okay as I can be, under the circumstances. Now you can go back to your life. Why not just save yourself any additional trouble, like getting shot by my father, and just leave?"

My heart twisted painfully in my chest at the coldness in her voice. I had done this to her. I had forced her to build an ice wall around her heart for her own protection. Well, if it was my fault that the wall existed then it was my responsibility to tear it down.

"No, Bella. I'm waiting with you. I'm going into the exam room with you. I'm taking you home when you're done. If Charlie or anyone else interferes with that, then I'll figure it out as we go. You and I still have to have a very important conversation and I can't get on with my life until we've done that."

"Grrrrrrr!! Why won't you be reasonable, Edward?" she demanded harshly.

"Bella, when have you ever known me to be reasonable where you are concerned?" I asked with one eyebrow raised defiantly.

"Never … but that doesn't make any sense now. Things are different than they used to be."

"Not as different as you think they are," I muttered.

"Bella Swan?" called a nurse.

Bella rose from her seat to follow the nurse. She turned to find me following and shook her head irritably. Evidently, Bella decided not to argue with me as she turned back to nurse and continued to follow her into an exam room.

We had waited for only a few minutes with a rather young doctor entered the cubicle.

"Bella! My favorite patient ... what new and exciting bodily trauma have you inflicted on yourself today?" the man asked merrily. '_Jeez, Bella. It's only been a week this time_,' he thought to himself.

"Hi, Jordy. Nice to see you, too," Bella said with a tight smile.

"Where's your usual stunt coordinator?" Jordy asked. '_Who's the new guy_?'

"I don't know, actually. Jake's probably up in the CCU waiting room. One of his tribal elders had a heart attack this morning," she said.

"Well, I'm certainly sorry to hear that," Jordy said before turning to me. He stuck out his hand. "Jordan Carter, Bella's favorite boo-boo fixer," he introduced himself to me.

"Edward Cullen," I replied.

"Cullen? One of Carlisle Cullen's kids?" he asked. '_Wasn't it one of Dr. Cullen's kids that left Bella in the woods? She was catatonic for a week after that. Wonder if Charlie knows he's here? _'

"Yes, Carlisle is my father," I said curtly. Left Bella in the woods? What did he mean by that?

"Well, it's a pleasure. We miss your father a great deal around here." '_I hope he's not going to screw with her head again. Jesus, I don't know if Charlie could take anymore_.'

"I'll let him know you said so," I said. I was trying to suppress a growl. Bella looked at me curiously. I just shook my head.

"Well, Miss Bella. What seems to be the problem today?" he asked her.

Bella held up her wrist to show off her claw marks.

"Good grief, Bella. What did you tangle with?" Jordy gasped.

"There was a rather large dog standing between Bella and her front door when I drove up. I scared it away with the horn on my car but not before it had clawed her. I had to drag her in here to get it checked," I interjected.

Bella glowered at me.

'_Must have been one hell of a big dog. Some kind of mastiff, maybe_?' he thought. "These cuts are so clean. Dog claws aren't usually that sharp. Are you sure it was a dog?" he questioned me.

"It looked like some kind of sled dog. I don't think it was a wolf. But I'm not an expert," I shrugged.

"Regardless, I think I need to close these up. We'll use liquid stitches today. The scars won't be too bad. I'm also going to give you a week long course of antibiotics that I want you to FINISH. Got me?" he looked Bella in the eye as he asked. '_She didn't finish the last time and had to come back with an infection_,' he thought.

"Yeah, Jordy. I got you," she said with a grimace.

I was glaring at Bella.

"What?" she asked pointedly.

"Just more for us to discuss later," I said.

Jordy cleaned her wounds and used medical adhesive to close the cuts. He gave her a prescription which she moved to shove into her pocket. I grabbed it from her hand and placed it in my shirt pocket. "We'll stop at a pharmacy as soon as we leave," I stated firmly.

"Good man!" Jordy said to me. '_Can't be all bad, I guess, if he's trying to take care of her. Wonder what really happened with them_?' He then turned to Bella, "Until next time, my dear Miss Bella. Hopefully, it won't be too soon."

"It won't be," I said matter-of-factly.

Bella rolled her eyes at me and then hopped down from the examination table. "Take me home now, please," she said.

"My pleasure," I replied.

As we were walking through the waiting area towards the exit, Bella suddenly stopped short. My eyes followed her gaze to a boy seated in one of the chairs near the windows. He appeared rather young, perhaps early teens, and he seemed to be trying hard to repress some very strong emotions. Bella walked towards him slowly.

"Seth? Is everything all right?" she asked.

He looked up at her concerned face and lost his battle with grief. "Bella," he cried, "my dad died." He then began to sob.

Bella knelt in front of him and took him into her arms. He laid his head on her shoulder and wept. Bella gently rocked him back and forth and murmured softly in his ear.

I had always been captivated by Bella's kindness. Now I was reminded again of why I loved this woman so much. No matter what was going on in her life, she was always more concerned with someone else's comfort than with her own. Her own distress was secondary.

"Edward," she said quietly, "would you go and find a bottle of water for Seth?"

"Certainly," I said. "I'll be right back."

She nodded at me before turning her attention back to the young man.

I wandered the floor for a few minutes before finding a vending machine containing the requested item. After making my purchase, I turned to head back to Bella and Seth and found myself staring into the red rimmed eyes of Charlie Swann.


	3. Chapter 3

I watched with some regret as Jacob Black disappeared into the forest

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

_RECAP (EPoV):_

_I wandered the floor for a few minutes before finding a vending machine containing the requested item. After making my purchase, I turned to head back to Bella and Seth and found myself staring into the red rimmed eyes of Charlie Swann._

Charlie and I stood face-to-face for an endless moment before any thought was discernible in his mind. I myself was more than a little taken aback at this unexpected meeting. I had heard his thoughts but had not recognized him as Charlie because his mind had been filled with names and faces that I did not recognize. I had no idea what I was going to say to him. I expected that he would be angry, protective, and probably vengeful toward me. I deserved every bit of that and more but I had hoped to deal with all of it on my own terms and in my own time. Now was not that time.

'_Son of a …'_ was the first thought I heard from his shocked brain. Then he spoke, "What in holy hell are you doing here, E ..eh … Cullen?" He seemed unable to pronounce my given name so he opted for my family name.

Not knowing what best to say, I told the truth. "I've come back," I said.

'_Dammit. Dammit. Dammit,'_ he repeated over and over in his mind. "I can see that Cullen. For how long?" He said desperately.

"I have no immediate plans to leave. I have come home to stay," I declared.

His mind exploded into thought, _'It had to be today! Shi … ooot. Bella's going to find out. She'll shatter again.'_ Then images played through his thoughts like a slide show: catatonic Bella lying in her bed, unblinking, unresponsive; frenzied Bella screaming at him and Renee that she would never leave Forks; dozens of broken CDs in the trash; a blank, dead looking Bella sitting at the dinner table staring into space; one of the dinners that Bella had supposedly eaten hidden in a napkin; crumpled phone messages lying in a waste bin, calls that he knew she hadn't returned.

"Where is your father?" Charlie demanded.

I was so distracted by the images that Charlie had running through his mind that it took me a few seconds to answer him. Her pain was my fault. I deserved to suffer. I didn't deserve the chance with her that I had come to claim. I didn't deserve her. What I deserved was an eternity of solitude. I deserved for the hell that I had suffered these last months to continue for the rest of my unnatural life. If I received my just deserts, what would happen to Bella's life? She had suffered just as much from our separation as I had. While I was sure that fate would find a way to punish me for the misery that I had caused Bella, I knew that more time apart was not the right path for either of us. Bella would again be mine. I was always hers.

I then responded a bit absently to Charlie's question, "I haven't spoken to him recently. The last time he and I talked, he was in New York state. He's been teaching at Cornell."

"You're here without your parents?" he asked incredulously.

"Charlie, I am of age now. I can go and live where I want," I stated. I wondered if he believed that Carlisle and Esme had forced me to leave. I would probably set him straight if he ever said that. Although, I had to admit that it might make things easier between Bella's father and me if he made the assumption that I had not had a choice but to go away with my family.

Charlie's mind was racing through all the possible reasons I would have for coming back to Forks. There was only one that made any sense to him. _'He won't do it to her again. I won't let him.'_ "You won't see Bella again," he stated coldly.

There was no point in lying to him. He would find out anyway and I had no intention of sneaking around with Bella. She deserved better than that. She deserved to be treated with respect and honor.

"I have already seen Bella, Charlie. I know that she's been through a great deal of pain but …" I was suddenly interrupted by Charlie's hand pressed flat against my chest as he roughly pushed me back into the vending machine. I allowed myself to be handled this way to preserve the illusion that I was a teenage boy dealing with a much older and larger man. Charlie increased the pressure on my chest as he spoke through his teeth.

"You have no concept of what you did to her, boy! I will not stand by and let that happen again. You. Will. Not. See. Her. Again," he thundered at me.

"I won't agree to that, Charlie. I do know how she felt while we were apart because I was in the same shape," I admitted quietly as I stared into his eyes.

'_Bullshit!'_ The exclamation rang through his brain. "I will stop you from seeing her. Don't doubt for a minute that I can," he hissed.

Despite the fact that this was Bella's father speaking to me, I still felt a wave of angry defiance rush through my body. Bella was my soul mate. No one would keep me from her. "Charlie …," I ground out, "Chief Swan … I don't want to disrespect you. I don't want to defy Bella's father but I came back for her. I am not leaving and I am going to do everything within my power to bring her back into my life. Whatever it takes, I want Bella back. I love her."

Charlie stared back at me for a moment while trying to come up with a plan of action. The plan that he chose was pointless, idiotic, and illegal.

"You're under arrest," he said as he roughly (with my cooperation) turned me to face the glass wall of the vending machine. I heard the metal clank of the handcuffs as he freed them from his belt and felt the cold metal against my skin as he attached them to my wrists.

"On what charge?" I demanded hotly.

"Disturbing the peace and resisting arrest," he stated smugly. He was starting to enjoy this. It was the fulfillment of many fantasies that he had had over the last few months. Then he continued to speak. "You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Do you understand?" He didn't pause for me to answer. "Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand? You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand? If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning. If you wish. Do you understand? If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand? Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?"

"Do you want me to answer that one?" I asked insolently.

"Sure. You can answer THAT one," he said with glee. Charlie had gone from murderously angry to completely amused in the space of thirty seconds.

"Okay. Yes. I will answer any question you ask me, Chief Swan. Go ahead," I said.

Charlie paused for a moment and then asked, "Are you willing to leave town right now and never again try to see or contact Bella?"

"No, Charlie," I said. "I will never willingly leave Bella again," I stated emphatically.

"All right. Have it your way," he said. Then he grabbed me by the arm and started leading me down the hall towards the exit.

"Charlie," I said in my most compelling voice, "this won't change my mind. What is the point? You and I both know that I have committed no crime. No matter what you think of me, no matter what I deserve for the choices I'm made, you won't let me suffer the consequences for something I did not do. You are too good a man."

"Cut the crap, Cullen," he said while rolling his eyes. "I'll do whatever I have to do to protect my daughter. No matter what kind of man I am, I'm a father first." Evidently, my 'dazzling' voice didn't work as well on middle aged men as it did on women of all ages.

We rounded the corner and headed past the waiting area where I had left Bella and Seth. I realized that the bottle of water that I had obtained for the grief stricken young man was still in my hand. I wondered absently if Charlie would allow me to give it to him if I asked nicely.

"Charlie!" I heard Bella exclaim. She was stalking towards us with Seth trailing behind. "What are you doing to Edward?" she demanded.

'_Oh, crap!' _"I'm arresting him," Charlie explained. "What are you doing here, Bella?

"I can see the cuffs," she said bluntly, "but why are you arresting him?"

"Disturbing the peace and resisting arrest," he said. In his mind he was trying to concoct the backup story for just HOW I had caused a peace perturbing ruckus and then fought him when he tried to stop me.

Bella looked to me for answers. I rolled my eyes. Her expression changed from confusion to understanding.

"Ch … Dad! You can't arrest him for coming back to Forks. He can go where ever he wants. You could get into a lot of trouble for this," she worried.

"You didn't answer my question, Bella," Charlie began, "What are you doing here?"

"Edward brought me. I had a misunderstanding with a stray dog, just as he was pulling into our driveway for a visit . The dog clawed me before Edward could scare him away." She held up her bandaged hand to show him the evidence. "We ran into Seth on the way out and I sent Edward to get him some water."

"Bella! Are you all right?" Charlie asked with panic in his voice.

"I'm fine, Dad. Jordy fixed me up," she replied. "Now why don't you uncuff Edward and let him go. I'm sure he's got plans. He's probably headed back home tonight."

Charlie eyed me with suspicion. I shook my head to answer the unspoken question. No, I would not be leaving anytime soon. Charlie sighed.

"You got that water for Seth?" he asked me.

I turned slightly so that they would see the bottle I still held in my hand and Bella reached to take it from me. Charlie stopped her. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Bella just glared at him for a moment before turning her eyes purposefully back to my hands. Charlie retrieved the water bottle and he gave it to Seth. The boy was watching the scene play out with a great deal of interest. Despite my irritation at this delay in my plans to talk to Bella, I was a glad that the boy had a distraction from his grief over his father's death.

"Seth," Charlie said, "are you all right, son? Your mother is worried about you. She sent me to find you but I got a bit side tracked."

"I'm okay, Charlie," Seth said thickly. "Bella and her friend were really nice to me. Is my mom still upstairs?"

"Yes, she is. You go on back to the family. You should be with them. Bella, why don't you head up there, too. I'm sure Sue would like to see you," Charlie suggested.

"No, Dad, I think I need to stay here with you," she said before turning to Seth. "If you need anything, you just call me, okay? If you just want to hang out somewhere and get away from home for a while, I'll come and get you and we'll go somewhere, just you and me."

Seth smiled at her and nodded. He liked her very much. His thoughts were very different from the myriad of sexual fantasies that I was accustomed to hearing from teenage boys where Bella was concerned. His mind was innocent and good, a pleasant place to be.

"Thanks Bella. I appreciate it a lot," Seth said to her. He then turned to me, "Thanks Edward. I hope everything turns out okay for you." He then winked at me. He was concerned by my predicament but he didn't believe that Charlie would do anything too serious. He knew what had happened with Bella in the last few months and he knew from listening to Charlie talk to Harry just how much Charlie had been worried. He didn't believe Charlie's story about my peace disturbance and considered saying so. He asked himself if a grownup in the middle of a mental breakdown would listen to a thirteen year old boy. _'Nope, probably not. Hmmm.'_ He wondered for a moment if his dad could talk some sense into Charlie but he realized quickly that Harry would never be talking to anyone again.

"I'll see you guys later," Seth choked out before he turned back towards the elevators.

We stood there watching until Seth boarded an elevator. Charlie spoke first. "He's such a good kid. Doesn't deserve any of this."

"You're right he doesn't," Bella said. Then she looked hotly at her father. "Do you think Edward deserves to be arrested just because he broke up with your daughter. That's not illegal, Dad."

"I told you. He disturbed the peace and resisted arrest. He deserves everything he's going to get." Charlie tightened his grip on my arm and again began to lead me towards the doors. Charlie was practically salivating at the thought of putting me in a cell and slamming the gate closed in my face. Another of his fantasies that would come true today.

"Edward," Bella said from behind me, "is there anyone I can call for you? Does your family have an attorney here in town?"

"Don't worry about this, Bella. I'll take care of it," I said. I did not want her to be any more stressed than she already was. I would have my chance to talk to her when Charlie gave up on this ridiculous scheme. If the opportunity did not present itself naturally, then I would make it happen. Bella and I would talk. Soon.

"Wait!" she shouted from behind us as we exited the hospital. I heard her steps rapidly approaching.

"What is it, Bella?" Charlie asked. "I need to get him to the station before Deputy Mark's shift ends."

"Edward brought me. I have to go with you. I need a ride home," she explained.

"Bella …" Charlie started before I interrupted.

"Bella," I said, "my keys are in my pocket. Take the rental car. I'll get it later. I'd rather not leave it here over night anyway."

Bella reached for my pocket before Charlie grabbed her hand. "Hold it!" he exclaimed. "You are not putting your hand in his pocket." Charlie blustered. Bella looked at him in confusion for moment before blushing the most beautiful shade of red. I grinned. I couldn't help it.

"Dad! Jeez," she muttered.

Charlie reached two fingers into my pocket and pulled out my keys. He gave them to Bella.

"I'll follow you to the station," Bella said to Charlie. "Maybe by the time you get there, you will have changed your mind. Nothing good is going to come of any of this."

"Bella, just go home," I said. "There is nothing that you can do right now. I will see you soon. We still need to talk about everything."

Tears sprang into her eyes for a moment and she quickly looked down at her feet. Her voice was strained as she spoke, "There's no need to explain things Edward. I don't blame you. Feelings change. We don't have control over our hearts. You don't have to apologize or feel guilty. You're not responsible for me or anything that happens to me. I just want you to have a happy life."

"There are things you don't understand, Bella," my voice cracked as I replied. I didn't really care that Charlie was listening. I needed her to understand. "I won't have any peace or happiness until I'm able to share those things with you."

Charlie growled loudly at me. He was trying to figure out what to do next. _'She doesn't want to see him NOW but I know he'll smooth talk her into it. Girls fall for his kind of crap all the time. I can keep him in lock up over night without charging him but what happens tomorrow. Am I actually going to press charges against the kid? I could. There were no witnesses. His word against mine. Bella knows, though. She wouldn't forgive me. Holy hell. I can't let this boy ruin her life again!'_

"Dad," Bella said softly. "It's inevitable that I have to at least talk to him. You're going to have to trust me to handle myself. What you're doing isn't going to help in the long run." I wondered briefly if Bella could read his mind.

"Well, it's not going to happen tonight because young Cullen here is going to be under lock and key at least until morning,' Charlie stated.

Bella grimaced. "Well," she said, "lead on, chief. I'll meet you at the station."

Bella headed to my car as Charlie dragged me towards his cruiser. At least Charlie thought he was dragging me. I was just pretending to be dragged. I considered stopping for moment just to show him that he had no power over me but I knew that would be just a stupid posturing move that I would not be able to explain away.

Charlie deposited me into the back seat, behind the plastic partition, and then climbed behind the wheel. I said nothing until we were out on the road headed towards the station.

"Charlie, I won't hurt her again. The only reason I left the way that I did was because I thought a clean break would be better for Bella. I thought she would get over me more quickly if we didn't have contact. I didn't want her to pine after me. I know it was stupid but I was desperate to find a way for her to cope with me leaving. I made a mistake … the biggest mistake of my life."

"Son," he began, "I know you're just a kid yourself but she's my daughter. Every minute she was in pain, I had to see it and it nearly did me in. I am asking you again to please just go away and leave her alone. She's just started to recover. I don't know if she'll live through it next time you leave her."

"I know you don't believe me, Charlie," I said, "and you have no reason at all to trust me but I promise you that I will never hurt her again. I will not leave unless she asks me to go. Even if she doesn't want me, I'll still be there for her if she ever needs me. I've spent more than six months missing her … aching for her … and I can not do it anymore. I won't survive the separation any longer."

'_Jeez, this kid is dramatic. He sounds so sincere. Good lord! Now I'm falling for the crap.'_ Charlie grunted. "Edward, whether I believe you or not, I'm still giving you a night in jail to think about this. You won't be having any conversations with Bella today."

We pulled into a parking space in front of the small police station. Charlie exited the car and opened my door to retrieve me. I saw my rental car pull into the space beside the cruiser. Then I noticed the black Mercedes parked on the other side of the rental car. The thoughts coming from the police station made me smile. _'Edward, you big jerk. Why didn't you call me and tell me you were coming back. I could have been here a full day sooner and I could have helped with Charlie! You know he likes me. You also know how much I have missed Bella. How could you not tell me you were coming back so I could come, too?! Now look at the mess you've made. I'll try to fix it but I still see you spending the night here.' _ Alice.

Bella met Charlie and me on the sidewalk and followed us into the station. "Dad, please! Please think about this. It's just not right to arrest someone for something he didn't do."

"If he didn't do it, he won't face any consequences for it, Bella," Charlie said. _'He may not have done this but he's done a lot of wrong to you and he deserves at least a night of discomfort. At the very least, it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better.'_

Charlie turned to me and said, "Stay right here," and then walked over to his deputy. _'Maybe he'll run and I'll have a real charge I can press against him.'_

Charlie was right about what I deserved. I could at least give him that. I decided right then that I could easily put up with a night in jail without complaint if it would help Charlie deal with things. If things went the way that I wanted them to go, Charlie and I would be constantly involved in each other's lives for the foreseeable future. Peaceful coexistence would be best for all involved, especially Bella.

'_That's a good decision you just made, Edward,'_ Alice thought. I glanced around the room but saw no sign of her.

"Where are you?" I muttered so softly that no human ear would hear it.

'_Oh, I'm in the lady's room taking care of lady business. Actually, I waiting for the perfect moment for my entrance. You'll know it when it happens,' _Alice declared.

"Dad …" Bella started towards her father but I stopped her.

"Bella, it's okay. One night won't kill me. I'll be fine and I'm sure it will all get sorted out tomorrow." I then leaned to whisper in her ear, "Let's give Charlie the opportunity to express some anger at me. He'll feel better for it."

Bella backed away slowly and looked at me strangely.

"For you," I said softly. "For you, I will do this quietly. I won't cause trouble for you father."

"Thank you, Edward," she murmured.

"You and I still have to talk. Will you promise me to allow me that opportunity?" I begged her. I would keep begging for the rest of my existence if necessary.

Bella stared at me sadly for a moment before answering. "I still say that it's not necessary … you don't owe me anything … but if it is that important to you, I promise to listen to whatever it is that you need to say."

"Thank you, Bella. Thank you very much," I said earnestly. "As soon as possible, we'll have that talk. Hopefully, tomorrow."

"All right," Charlie said as he came back to stand next to us, "Mark is going to take care of booking young Cullen here and I have to get back to the Clearwaters. Bella, you're going to be on your own tonight. Will you be okay?"

Before Bella could respond, there was a shriek, "Bella!"

Alice came streaking towards us at slightly faster than normal human speed. She could barely contain herself. "Oh, Bella! I've missed you so much. I couldn't wait to see you again. How have you been? Are you all right? What have you been doing? Oh, I want to hear everything!" Then she switched her focus to me, "Edward, why are you in hand cuffs?" _'Don't worry, Edward, I'll ask Charlie if Bella can stay with me tonight at our house.'_ Alice wrapped her small arms around Bella and held her tightly.

"Alice!?" Charlie and Bella exclaimed together.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" Bella asked in astonishment.

"Didn't Edward tell you?" Alice said. "We're moving back here. You weren't home when I dropped by so I came looking for Charlie. Hey, Charlie! I didn't just miss Bella, you know, I missed you bunches, too!"

Charlie blushed. "Well, Alice, hun, it's wonderful to see you. Edward did not mention that your family was moving back to Forks. When did this happen?"

"Edward and I are the first. Jasper will be here at the end of his semester. Carlisle and Esme are closing up the house in New York as we speak. Emmett and Rosalie are traveling right now but they'll come straight here after their trip. It is SO good to be HOME!!" Alice exclaimed excitedly and hugged Bella tighter. "I'm missed my best friend so much!" _'It's true, Edward. They are all coming back. Esme is particularly excited to see her whole family together again. She's missed Bella as much as I have. She's missed you, too.'_

"Alice, be careful with Bella." I scolded.

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Charlie why is Edward in handcuffs??" Alice looked at Charlie sharply. She never once loosened her grip on Bella.

Bella snorted. Charlie looked a little ashamed.

"It's just a misunderstanding, Alice. I'm sure it will be cleared up tomorrow. In the mean time, I'll be fine here for the night. Don't worry about me and don't tell Carlisle. I would rather not upset him so soon after coming home," I said to her.

"Well, I guess I can keep it to myself for now. But we'll talk about it again tomorrow," she said. _'Charlie will rethink this by morning, Edward. It's going to okay.'_

"Charlie," Alice began, "did I hear you say that Bella would be on her own tonight? With Edward incarcerated, I'll be all alone at our house. Is it okay if she comes to stay with me? Please, Charlie! I don't like being alone in that big house." Alice put on her best pouty face.

Bella looked at Charlie expectantly. "Please, Dad!" It was the first opportunity that Alice had given her to speak.

"I suppose that would be okay," Charlie said as he guided me over to his deputy's desk and sat me in the chair beside it. "Edward, Mark here is going to ask you some questions and then he'll settle you in for the night. I'll be back in the morning and we can talk some more about what happened."

"All right, Charlie," I replied.

Bella was watching this with a worried expression. "Bella," I said, "I'll be absolutely fine. Don't worry. You enjoy your night with Alice. You and I will catch up later."

Charlie frowned at this but said nothing.

"Bella, we're going to have so much fun. We'll do whatever you want to do. Even if it's not a makeover," Alice pledged.

Bella smiled widely at her friend and then burst into tears. "I'm so happy you're here, Alice. You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"Well, I'm certainly glad you're happy to see me. How would you act if you weren't? Good grief, Bella!" Alice glared at me for a moment before starting to drag Bella towards the door. "We'll stop at your place and pick up some clothes and then we'll go to my house. Is that okay?"

Bella and Alice left quickly. Bella casting glances at me over her shoulder as Alice urged her through the front doors of the station. I smiled back at her. Charlie frowned at the exchange and shook his head in exasperation. He soon followed them out the door with a comment to Deputy Mark to make sure to put me in a cell to myself. He was worried that an actual criminal might hurt me. If only he knew.

After everything became quiet again, the deputy looked over at me with a smirk. "So, now you know what happens when you break the heart of the police chief's daughter. Let's get you settled so you can get it over with."

With that he began the booking procedure. I honestly didn't mind at all. I had a promise from Bella that she would listen to me. She and I would talk. I was that much closer to having her in my arms again. I could endure anything as long as she was waiting for me when it was over.

Bella.

My love.

Soon.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, I guess that's it for the prep work

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

"Well, I guess that's it for the prep work. You ready to see your accommodations for the evening?" Mark asked with a good natured smile. He had finished filling out the paper work, taken my photograph from several angles, and then finger printed me. We were now seated again at his desk as he put everything into a folder and filed it in his desk drawer. In the back of my mind, I knew that Jasper and I would have to retrieve and destroy this information fairly soon. It wouldn't do to leave evidence like my fingerprints lying around in the human record system. Having Emmett for a brother was good practice for situations like this.

"Yes," I said wearily, "anytime is fine."

"Don't worry about it. I'll put you in a cell to yourself. There's only one other fella down there and he's sleeping off a drunk," Mark said. _'Kid's probably scared witless. That time I had to spend the night in jail in Port Angeles when I was sixteen I nearly threw up when they finger printed me,' _he reminisced silently.

"I'll be fine," I said. "I just want it to be over as quickly as possible."

"Got better things to do, do ya?" he asked with humor. '_Bella's a sweet kid. This one doesn't seem like the spawn of Satan that Charlie thinks he is. Hell, he's just a kid himself. Teenage boys do damn stupid things then regret 'em later. From the look on his face when Bella left, I'd say he's feeling a shit-load of regret.'_

"Tomorrow is bound to be a better day than today," I replied wryly.

Mark laughed. "Yep, I imagine it will be." He paused for a moment and then added, "You know, girls who are smart, sweet, funny, AND pretty don't come around often. If you manage to get back into Bella's good graces, you'd be an idiot to let her go again." _'Hell, if I was 10 years younger …'_

"You have no idea," I quickly interrupted his thought. I had developed a friendly opinion of the man and I didn't want to have that ruined with whatever thoughts he was having about my Bella. "If she forgives me, I will do everything that I can to keep her for as long as she will have me."

"Smart boy!" he declared. "Can I give some advice?"

"Of course," I said with curiosity for I had not heard any thoughts leading up to this.

"Tread lightly with Charlie. It'll take him a while to trust you again. Maybe years. As long as he sees you treating Bella like a lady and you treat him like he's got a say in what you both do, even if he really doesn't, then I think he'll loosen up eventually. And you might want to have a conversation with him about that day you left. That wasn't a good scene to witness. He'll want to rake you over the coals for that. He deserves the chance," the deputy said.

"What happened that day?" I asked. I had seen several images and heard thoughts that confused me about that afternoon.

"Well, Bella always swore it wasn't your fault but he never really believed her. He thought she was covering for you," he said.

"Covering for me? What does he think I did to her? Was she hurt? Did someone hurt her and Charlie thinks it was me?" My imagination was starting to get away from me.

"No. Calm down, man. It's not like that. The thing is, the day you left, or rather that night, Bella was found deep in the woods. She was curled up on the forest floor mumbling and only half conscious. She was in that state for a week after that. Wouldn't talk. Wouldn't eat or sleep. Just a big wide awake nothing. Later, Bella said that you and she talked right there on the path just in sight of the house. She said she followed you after you left and got lost. But Charlie has always half believed that you left her in the woods. You'll need to straighten him on that," Mark advised somberly.

My mind was racing. The images that I had seen in Jacob's mind of Bella in that state were from the day I left her. Somehow, that made them worse. I already knew I was responsible but I hadn't realized just how easily I could have prevented at least that one of the horrible experiences Bella had been through while I was gone. I should have made sure she was safe in her own home before running away from her. I should have at least made sure that Charlie was there when I talked to her. I should have done so many things differently.

"You believe Bella, then?" I asked.

"Yeah. I know your father. No kid of Carlisle Cullen's would do something like that. Charlie knows that, too, somewhere in the back of his mind. Bella's his little girl, though. He's not going to see too clearly where she's concerned, especially when she gets hurt. He forgets that you're just a damn kid yourself. No offense," he stated evenly.

"None taken," I said morosely. "I appreciate that you are trying to defend me but I must agree with Charlie. Even though she was close to her home, I should have made sure she was all right before I left for good. Something much worse could have happened to her and it would have been my responsibility. I don't deserve a second chance with her. Charlie is right." I then leaned over to rest my elbows on my knees and placed my face in my hands. I'm sure I looked the picture of remorse.

Mark laughed without humor. "Listen. I can see you love the girl. I can also see that you're feeling really guilty about everything, which you should. But do you really think that there's anyone else out there in the world that's going to treat her better than you will? If you do, then I'll let you go now so you can be on your way out of town."

"I know that there are men who would be better for Bella …" I began as I looked back up at him.

Mark interrupted, "I didn't ask if you thought there someone better FOR Bella. I asked if there was anyone out there who would treat her better. Is there?" he demanded.

I was confounded by the question. I had spent so much time believing that someone other than me would be better for Bella that I had failed to recognize a basic truth. There was no one on this earth who would ever love Bella as much as I did. No other man in recorded history or in the unforeseeable future could watch over Bella as well as I could. Would anyone even try to know her as well as I did? Was it even possible for anyone else to appreciate her as much as I always would? Would a human male ever see Bella as anything other than a woman to fulfill his own needs? She was a work of art! She deserved to be cherished and protected. She needed to be encouraged so that her talents would grow and her self image would blossom into the glorious truth. Could there be another man on the planet more capable of that than me?

"No, there absolutely is not!" I acknowledged fervently. "There is no one else in the world that will be as good to her as I will be."

"Well, then, don't you think she deserves to be with you then?" he asked with a smirk. _'I wish I hadn't had to learn it the hard way. Just because you're not the best doesn't mean you're not the best for her.'_

"She deserves to be loved the way that I love her. There isn't anyone else who can come close to giving her that," I said. I looked up at him again to see a bemused expression on his face. I was suddenly embarrassed to be pouring my heart out to someone I barely knew. I rolled my eyes slightly and turned my head to look away from him.

He seemed to understand my sudden reticence. "Hey, don't be embarrassed kid. I may not seem like the most sensitive guy in the world but I've been there a few times. I make it a habit to share the lessons I've learned with those in need. Hopefully, those guys are smarter than me. I mean it when I say I've been there a FEW times. You'd think I'd learn the lessons myself, wouldn't ya? Unfortunately, I have what I like to call situational blindness. I can't see the handwriting on the wall when it's right in front of me but my hindsight is absolutely perfect. That enough clichés for ya?" he asked laughing.

"Clichés only become cliché because they're so true. It was good advice. I appreciate it," I said to him as I stood and reached for his hand.

"You're welcome, kid," he replied standing. "Now, since you've decided to stick out the night and pass old Charlie's test, let's go get you settled."

"Test?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. Didn't I tell you? Charlie told me to offer to let you go if you'd skedaddle out of town. 'Course, he didn't tell me to also offer all of my hard won wisdom on a silver platter but I figured somebody had to help you out. Guys your age, even mature ones like yourself, don't often think too clearly where girls and love are concerned." He grinned at me as he spoke. He then walked around the desk and took me by the arm.

I snorted back at him as he led me towards the back of the office. "Thanks for the compliment."

"Don't mention it," he said. Then he looked back at me with a grimace. "Really. Don't mention it. If Charlie asks, just tell him I gave you the offer and you turned it down. If he finds out I helped you make the right decision he'll skin me alive."

"I'll keep the details to myself," I promised.

We walked through the door leading from the front office of the small police station into the large back room filled with iron cages. He stepped to the first cell on his right and ushered me through the door.

"Well, there's a bed and a couple of places to sit. It's not prison so at least you won't have the humiliation of a toilet out in the open. If that need arises just yell and someone will come get you eventually. My shift is over in about five minutes so Barney will be taking care of you this evening. He'll bring in some dinner for you in a couple of hours," he said as he slid the gate closed. "Oh, and that snore you hear from the next cell is Otis. He had a little too much liquid courage and decided to drive his ex-wife's car into her pool early this morning. Should'ha seen it! Funniest show I ever saw. The car's sinkin', Otis is trying not to drown, and old Shirley is holding a shot gun on him demanding that he go down with the ship … er … car. Priceless!"

Mark turned to walk away from me laughing as he went. "Thank you again," I said. "You have been much kinder than I had a right to expect."

He nodded at me, still grinning at Otis, and disappeared back through the door to the office.

I sighed heavily as I surveyed my surroundings. The cell was unexpectedly clean, if terribly dingy. I sat down on one of the benches along the back of the back wall. There were no exterior windows so that only light in the room was artificial. I could hear Mark telling someone to have a good night. Barney, I assumed, wished him the same. It was late afternoon, very nearly twilight, and I missed Bella terribly. I had only shared her company for a few short hours but it had been enough to stifle the hopeless loneliness that I been suffering all of the months that I had been away from her. Now, that loneliness was threatening to overcome me again. I knew that I would see her again tomorrow but I wondered just how I was going to make it through this night. I had hoped, perhaps unrealistically, that I would spend this evening with my arms wrapped around Bella as she slept. I could think of nothing more heavenly than that. Instead, I was trapped in small town jail hell, complete with the town drunk snoring in the next barred cubicle.

It was only a short time before Barney served dinner. Otis never stirred. A couple of hours later the light was turned out for the night. Otis' snores were soon joined by similar sounds from the front office. Barney was down for the count.

I resolved to make the best of situation. I reclined along the length of one of the benches in the cell and I closed my eyes. I called up a vision of Bella and I tried to imagine what she was doing at that moment. Alice was probably forcing her into some ridiculous feminine grooming ritual. Bella was a natural beauty. She didn't need creams and paints to make her more attractive but I had to admit that I was always even more awed by her presence when Alice managed to dress her in something ultra feminine. I had a vision of Bella at our prom last year. She has been so beautiful that night. I had not wanted it to end.

My musings were interrupted by a familiar inner voice. _'Edward, the deputy is asleep so I'm coming in there. I need to talk to you,'_ Alice thought.

"I don't think these are visiting hours, Alice," I said softly.

'_Okay, fine,'_ she thought, _'Bella and I will just leave. Even though she's worried about you and actually wanted to come and make sure you're all right. Plus the fact that I need to get that prescription from you for her antibiotic. I had a vision of what will happen if she doesn't take it and it's not pretty, pleasant, or non-painful for her.'_

"Bella's here with you? Alice, are you insane? You're going to get her into trouble," I swore under my breath. Then I thought about it for another moment. Bella was here. The real, in the flesh, not a fantasy Bella was here. I spoke again loud enough for only Alice to hear, "but since you are already here …"

'_That's want I thought, Eddie,' _Alice gloated.

I focused my hearing on the front office. I heard the front door quietly open and then close. Then I heard Alice's subtle footfalls and Bella's more pronounced steps. I smiled brightly at the sound of a slight stumble and a softly spoken curse. Suddenly, there was only one set of unnaturally rapid, virtually silent footsteps. Alice must have decided to carry poor Bella rather than risk waking Barney. The steps stopped on the other side of the door leading into this room and I nervously ran both of my hands through my unruly hair. Looking down at my clothes, I was sorry to see that my appearance was more than a little rumpled. I knew that Bella would understand the circumstances but it had always been my instinct to look my best for her. I tried unsuccessfully to tidy myself a bit as the door quietly swung open.

Alice stepped through the door with Bella in her arms. She set Bella on her feet and then turned to softly close the door behind them. Thank God for the lax security in small town jail hell!

"Bella," I said softly. "I'm over here, love." I could see her brows pulled together as she squinted into the darkness. Alice took her arm and pulled her over to my cell. She then stepped back to give Bella and me a moment of semi-privacy. I stepped forward so that there were only a few inches between the two of us. A few inches and a wall of iron bars.

"Hi," she whispered. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Deputy Mark was very hospitable and Otis over there has been keeping me entertained with some very creative dreaming." I smiled at her brightly. "In his last dream he was Captain Bligh and Moby Dick was wearing a pink bathrobe. The whale kept telling him to take out the trash."

Otis snorted loudly and began to mumble. Bella gave me a little smirk and reached towards the hand that I had resting on the cross bar between us. She seemed to think better of it, though, and dropped her hand before touching me.

"I'm sorry about all of this. Charlie shouldn't be using his position for revenge. I feel terrible. This is entirely my fault," Bella said worriedly. Her face was mask of concern.

"None of this is your fault. Never was. Every awful moment that you have lived since last September can be laid at my feet. I would deserve any action that you father decided to take against me. And Charlie isn't trying to get revenge … not really. He is just reminding me that he can protect you. He doesn't realize that you will never again need protection from me," I averred.

Bella's bottom lip quivered a bit.

I looked around the cell again. "This is definitely not the place I would have chosen to have this conversation."

"You don't have time for THAT conversation, Edward," Alice said aloud. "Barney the deputy will awaken in exactly 7 minutes and 34 seconds so Bella and I have to go. We just wanted to see you and get that prescription." _'Barney the deputy! It's hilarious Edward. Have you seen him? He's got bug eyes just like Don Knotts. Emmett would die laughing.' _

I growled softly at Alice, trying to impress upon her the seriousness of my situation but internal laughter kept ringing through her mind. _'Oh, lighten up, Edward. Please use this time wisely and, for God's sake, grow a sense of humor. You, a repressed vampire, are in jail with a drunk named Otis and a deputy named Barney. This is like an episode of the X-Files.' _

"What are you two talking about? I know you're having a conversation." Bella sounded annoyed.

"I'm just asking Edward AGAIN for your prescription. With you here, he can't keep his mind on the matter at hand. You're very distracting to him. Always have been," Alice said as she laughed softly.

I could see Bella's blush practically glowing in the dark.

"Here," I said as I presented the small piece of paper, "make sure to get it filled first thing in the morning. Bella, will you promise to take it?"

"I already did promise," she replied hotly. "I promised Jordy."

"I'll make sure, Edward," Alice declared. "She'll be fine." 'You will get your chance to talk to her soon. I've seen it."

I looked at Alice, hoping that I would catch a glimpse of our future conversation in her mind. Alice began whistling the theme music from The Andy Griffith show in her head. I rolled my eyes at her.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Edward." Alice began to lead Bella back towards the door.

"Good night, Bella. Have pleasant dreams." I stared at her, hoping to dazzle her a bit. Her eyes glazed a little and she stumbled as Alice pulled her along. I grinned crookedly at her, knowing how she used to love my smile.

Bella blinked her eyes for a moment and then looked at me with comprehension. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Good night to you, Edward. Enjoy you time with Otis."

"Until tomorrow, love," I called after her quietly.

She frowned at me for a moment and then turned on her heel and followed Alice out the door. Alice poked her head back through the door, smiled brightly at me, and was then gone.

I couldn't stop smiling. Bella had been worried about me. She still loved me. I just had to convince her that I was still in love with her. Now that I realized, with Deputy Mark's help, that there was no one else who could ever love her as well as I could, I would never give up until she believed me.


	5. Chapter 5

"Good Morning, Mr

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

"Good Morning, Mr. Cullen!" said and overly cheerful Deputy Mark Taylor. "How was your evening? Were the accommodations to your liking, sir?"

I tried not to scowl at him through the bars as I replied, "I hope you won't be offended if I plead the fifth on that."

"'Course not, kid. Actually, that would be the polite thing to do. What time would you like to check out? We'll have the valet bring your car around front." Mark could barely contain the pride he felt in his own wit. _'Woohoo, that was a good one!'_

I looked at my watch thoughtfully for a moment then looked back up at him with a hopeful smile on my face. "Would now be too soon?"

"Seeing as the arresting officer has decided not to press charges, I think that now would be an excellent time for you to vacate these premises," he drawled. "However, I must advise you that running afoul of said officer again would not be in your best interest." _'Or mine,'_ he thought to himself as he unlocked the cell door.

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble for you," I said with concern. I wasted no time in following the deputy through the main office door.

"Naw. No trouble at all. I may have tried to reason, a bit, with the old grouch this morning but my poor judgment and his stubborn streak don't have a thing to do with you. Just be thankful that Bella is eighteen and he can't arrest you for anything … well … anyway. You get the idea," he warned. He was replaying the conversation that he had shared with Charlie this morning in his mind. A long night at the Clearwater's had done nothing to improve Charlie's mood and his suspicions of me had bordered on the paranoid.

"I would never …" I began.

"Well, you didn't actually disturb the peace or resist arrest, now did ya?" he said with a grin.

I grinned back at him with good humor. "I see your point."

"Now I believe that fancy rental out front it yours. Bella left the keys for you yesterday before she left," he said as he passed them to me along with my confiscated cell phone. "If you'll sign this release stating that you are once again in possession of your personal property, you, my friend, will be free to go."

I signed my name with a bit more flourish that I would normally. Then I offered my hand to the man. "Thank you again for what you said last night. I would also like thank you for at least trying to talk to Charlie. He is your employer and I doubt he was thrilled that you would even think of defending me. If there is anything that I can ever do for you, please let me know. I owe you."

"Kid, you don't owe me a damn thing … but I appreciate it anyway. Next time you see some poor sap making dumb decisions for good reasons, you set him straight and we'll call it even. How's that?" Mark then took my hand and shook it firmly. He gave no sign that he even noticed the chill of my skin.

I nodded to him and gave him a smirk. "I guess that's a deal between a former poor sap and a recently recovered one."

He laughed loudly. "Kid, you may have recovered from being a sap but, for me, it's a life long occupation. Now, you better go get that girl before some other member of the club o'saps takes advantage of your lack of attention." _'Charlie really likes that Jacob Black kid but Bella never looks at him that way she looks at this one. The old grouch is just gonna have to get used to the idea that Bella will be a Cullen one of these days.'_

I froze for a minute. Bella could be a Cullen. Bella could be my wife. The idea was one that I had not allowed myself the freedom to consider before. Now that I had made my decision to belong to her with no caveats … now that I had accepted that there was no other man who could love or treasure her as she deserved … now the notion of being Bella's husband sent a thrill shooting through my cold body. Bella. My wife.

"You okay, kid?" Mark asked.

"Absolutely fine," I replied. "Just thinking about my … girl. I've got a lot to make up for."

"Don't stand around here wasting time, then. Get to it!" Mark commanded.

"Thanks again," I said as I sprinted for the door.

The scent assaulted me as soon as my foot hit the sidewalk. The mutt was here.

"Hello, Jacob," I said with as much civility as I could manage.

He was leaning with his back against the outer wall of the police station, obviously waiting for me. He had a highly amused grin on this face.

"Leech," he greeted me. _'Seth was right. Charlie arrested him. This is too sweet!'_

I could see the conversation with Seth in his mind. Even though poor Seth already had more than enough to worry about, he had been concerned about me. He did not understand why Charlie would subject someone to false arrest. The boy had approached Jacob, someone for whom he believed that Charlie had a healthy respect, requesting that Jacob speak to Charlie on my behalf. Jacob, being the child that he was, chose instead to come here to ridicule me.

"Is there something I can do for you, mutt?" I demanded.

"Nope. Nothing at all. The only thing that I want from you, Charlie already handled for me. He's keeping you away from Bella," he said with a smirk. _'Wonder where Bells is this morning. I'll go by the house and see if she wants to come over. We need to talk this out. She's got to get this bloodsucker out of her system. I know I can make her see him for what he is.'_

"I think you seriously over estimate your powers of persuasion, dog. You've had months to change her heart and you haven't managed to do that yet. What makes you think you will succeed now when you have failed so many times before?" I cocked my head in a gesture of mock curiosity.

Jacob narrowed his eyes at me angrily. _'Wanna play, bloodsucker? Let's play,'_ his mind hissed at me. A montage of scenes began to flow through his mind. Most I had already seen: the first night when Bella was found in the forest, the listless and unhealthy Bella who had barely functioned for months after I left.

"Do you think I am unaware of her pain, Jacob?" I asked him angrily. "I know exactly what my absence did to her. My return is the only thing that will help her. If you care about her like you think you do, you would not try to interfere."

"Oh, I'm not done, leech. For the most part, those aren't even my memories." Then he began to remember other times. He showed me images of Bella in his home, at La Push beach, in his garage helping him work on motorcycles. I saw scenes of Bella smiling and laughing, having fun with him and with his pack … each subsequent image of her was brighter than the last.

"She was getting over you. She would have continued to get over you if you had just stayed away. She still could have a life if you just stay the hell away from her!" The dog's control over his temper was starting to slip. His arms were shaking from the effort. "I was the only person who was able to help her. I was the only person she responded to. Do you still think that I'm 'overestimating' my effect on her life?"

Perhaps his little show would have affected my confidence if I hadn't witnessed the scene at her home yesterday. She had rejected his romantic advances. She loved him, that much had been clear to me, but it was not the kind of love that she felt for me.

"Jacob, I don't deny that you have been a good friend to her. You have no idea how thankful I am that you were there for her and I know that she feels that way, too. I could see yesterday that she holds you in high esteem … but she loves me. She has not gotten over that and you know it." I stated calmly. I had good reasons for keeping a tight reign on my temper. First, a public street was not place for a show of vampire / werewolf fighting techniques. Second, I did feel gratitude for all that Jacob had done for Bella. I felt I owed him civility if nothing else.

"You're right, leech. I was there. You weren't. You forfeited any claim to her when you left her to rot," he snarled. _'He doesn't deserve this. He left her. I was there. I helped her. I loved her. She has to see that.'_

"So you think this is a contest, Jacob? You think that Bella is a prize to be won? Do you think you have earned the right to be with her? It doesn't work that way, dog. I know I don't deserve her. I never did. She is a gift, a miracle, and I was so afraid of being dangerous to her that I left. I did that to keep her safe from me and my kind …even though it nearly killed me to be away from her. That doesn't make me any more deserving of her. There is nothing that I can do to deserve her." I paused to gauge his reaction. He was outwardly calm. His thoughts were confused.

"If that's true, then why are you here? She's better off without you and you know it," he said angrily.

"I thought that, too, until I came back to check on her and saw everything that she has been through in my absence. I heard her say to you that she would never recover from losing me … losing us. I left so she would have a happy, normal life with no mythical creatures and no life threatening complications. Well, she isn't happy, she is spending most of her time with werewolves, and she is being stalked by a vengeful vampire. My reasons for leaving don't make sense anymore," I argued.

"Maybe not, but you did leave. You can't just expect things to go back to the way they were. I was there when you weren't and I'm not going away now. Prepare yourself, leech. I'm not giving up," Jacob vowed.

"While I appreciate that you were so willing to be a substitute for me while I was away, your services are no longer required," I ground out. I then paused to make sure that he was hearing every word. I lowered my voice in order to restrain a snarl and stared into his eyes as I said, "I am here now. Bella still loves me and I love her. She chose to belong to me from the first moment that we saw each other. She is _mine_."

I could see the vibrations spreading throughout Jacob's body as he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. He stood very still and concentrated on keeping his human form. He was breathing heavily. _ 'She won't be his if I kill him. She'll be free if he's ash. But she would hate me. Sooner or later she would get over him but she'd never forgive me. Shit!'_

After a few moments of concentration his body stilled and he raised his eyes to my face. "Think whatever you like, leech. It won't change things for me. I'm still not going to go away. It won't change things for Charlie either. He hates you almost as much as I do."

"Charlie is her father and I owe him my respect. I allowed him to arrest me. I allowed him to believe that he can keep me from her for his peace of mind. Do you get that, dog? I allowed it." I knew I sounded arrogant. Arrogant or not, it was the truth. "And he doesn't hate me. He is angry with me and I deserve that. He will get past it because he will see just how much I love and respect his daughter. He will understand that there is no one else in this world that can take care of her as well as I can. I will make that happen. Don't doubt it."

I paused for moment and then continued before Jacob could reply, "In the end, it doesn't really matter what you or Charlie want for Bella or for yourselves. It only matters what Bella wants. You already know what she wants. So does Charlie. She wants to be with me."

"We'll see," said Jacob flatly.

"Yes, you will," I retorted. "Have a good day Jacob. I am sorry to cut this short but I have other business to which I must attend."

I carefully made my way to my car, keeping Jacob in my sight. He never moved as I pulled away from the curb and drove away. He just stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest staring after me. His mind was not so calm. He was desperately trying to convince himself that I was wrong about Bella. He knew that she loved me but he refused to acknowledge that she might accept me back into her life. I told myself that her love would be the key to her forgiveness. She would forgive me. My mind and my heart wanted to reject all other possibilities.

I took my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Alice.

"Good Morning, Edward," Alice chirped. "Have you been emancipated?"

"Yes, Alice. I'm on my way home. I just wanted to make sure that Bella has everything she needs before I leave town," I said.

"Really, Edward. I love Bella like a sister. Do you think that I am incapable of taking care of her? I'm insulted," Alice whined.

"Alice, dear sister, I know that you love Bella. I am just trying to …" I began before Alice interrupted.

"You are just trying to figure out what your next move will be and you're stalling for time," Alice asserted with a laugh. "Edward, dear brother, grow a pair and come home. Bella has been watching the drive way like a hawk. It's almost like she's expecting someone and can't wait to see him."

"Maybe she's just nervous about the rest of the family coming home," I suggested in a forlorn voice. "How can you be sure she's waiting for me?"

"Edward!" Alice hissed.

"Fine. You're sure," I admitted. I paused for a moment before blurting, "Alice, what if she can't forgive me?"

"She loves you. She will forgive you." Alice sounded so completely certain of that fact that my hope was rekindled.

"Have you seen something? Please, Alice." I was not too proud to beg.

"Yes, Edward. I've seen Bella's face when your name is mentioned. I saw her eyes light up when I suggested we go see you last night. I heard the love and concern in her voice when she asked me if I really thought you would be all right. It doesn't take psychic powers to see that she will forgive you. You just have to give her the opportunity by telling her the truth." Alice sighed heavily and then continued, "I can't promise you that it will be easy, Edward, but I will tell you that I still see Bella in your future. I don't know how far into the future these images are but they are still the same as they always were. You will be together again."

"Thank you, Alice," I whispered. "I will be home in a just a few minutes."

"Oh, I know," Alice stated with humor. I could almost see her tapping to her forehead and winking at me.

I snapped the phone closed and continued driving toward home … to Bella. I increased my speed as I exited the town limit. No matter how nervous I was at seeing her and speaking with her, I couldn't resist the compulsion I had to be near her. She was still my brand of heroin, only now it wasn't her blood that called to me. La Tua Cantante. She was my singer in so many ways. Her heart, her soul, her wry humor, her inner and outer beauty, her selflessness … all of these things that defined Bella were more appealing to me than her blood ever was. I no longer regarded her, even instinctively, as a predator regards prey. I considered her to be mine but I did not want to just possess her. I wanted us to belong to each other.

It was only a few minutes before I arrived at my family home. I parked the car in front of the house, not bothering to pull it into the garage. Taking a deep and unneeded breath, I exited the car and headed for the front door of the house.

Alice came skipping out of the door before I had even climbed the front steps.

"Hey, Edward. I'm going hunting for a couple of hours. Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper should be here late this afternoon and I don't want to be distracted by other needs when they arrive," she said brightly. She was inwardly reciting Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" in Portuguese.

My expression must have been confused.

"All right, fine. I don't want you in my head right now. I do need to hunt but I would also like to give you and Bella some privacy." She left the porch as she was speaking and continued on her way towards the edge of forest.

"What …?" I started to question her but could not decide what to ask.

Alice looked back and grinned at me before taking off into a run. She disappeared into the woods laughing. I hoped that was a sign of what her expectations were for my talk with Bella.

I turned and stepped into the house.

I was disappointed to find that Bella was not waiting for me in the living room. In fact, I could not sense her presence on the first floor at all. I paused, waiting for my senses to find her. I heard her beloved heartbeat coming from my room on the third floor. Her constant, deep breaths coupled with the steady rhythm of her heart meant that she was asleep. I smiled and raced up the stairs. I had not had an opportunity to watch her sleep in months and I did not want to miss the chance.

I stopped for a moment outside of my door to take deep, calming breath and then slipped silently into the room. Bella was seated on my leather sofa. She had her right foot tucked behind her left knee and was turned slightly so that the side of her head was resting on the back of the sofa. It looked like she had fallen asleep while waiting … hopefully while waiting for me. It was obvious that Alice had chosen her clothes. She was wearing a lovely blue smocked blouse and tailored black pants. Her shoes were black leather clogs with wedge heals and a shiny buckle. She was only wearing one of them at that moment. She looked lovely, but then she always did look beautiful to me whether she was wearing jeans or designer dresses.

Bella was deeply asleep but she did not look entirely comfortable. Not wanting her to wake up stiff or in pain, I carefully lifted her into my arms and laid her down on the sofa. She mumbled softly and turned on her side, facing forward. I sat on the floor in front of her, propped my chin in the sofa cushion, and studied her face. Carefully, I tucked her hair behind her ear and then stroked her soft cheek with the back of my fingers.

"Edward," she murmured. "I love you." I felt my heart beat for the first time in my undead life. The feeling that coursed through me felt like a combination of absolute terror and complete elation. I forgot to breathe for a moment.

"I love you, too, Bella," I croaked gently. "I love you so very much."

She sighed softly and snuggled more deeply into the sofa. Even though I was sitting right in front of her, even though I could feel her breath on my face, I still was not close enough. My confidence bolstered by her unconscious confession of love for me, I left my seat on the floor and stretched out on the sofa beside her. I turned on to my side to face her and I carefully took her into my arms. I tucked my face into the crook of her neck for a moment and breathed her scent. Then I just lay there soaking in her delicious warmth and watching her face as she slept.

I don't know how long we lay there before she began to wake. Her breathing became less regular and her eyelids began to flutter. She sighed a little sigh and then smiled a little smile … after a moment; she scowled as if concentrating very intently. Her eyes opened to find me studying her face.

"Hi," I said with a smile.

"Edward," she stammered as she struggled to sit up. "What are you …? When did you …? I mean why …?"

I chuckled and held her more tightly. I wasn't ready to let her go. I doubted that I ever would be. "Calm down, Bella. I apologize for startling you. It's just been too long since we were able to do this and I have missed it immensely. I could not pass up the opportunity."

She grimaced and then looked away from me. "Edward, please don't treat this so casually."

"There is nothing about this that is casual, Bella," I replied earnestly.

Bella turned back to face me angrily. "You don't love me. You don't want me. You were bored with me and in need of a better distraction when you left. Of course this is casual for you! You're back in town for the moment and I'm convenient. I refuse! I will not be one of your damn distractions, Edward. Now let me the hell up!" By the end of her tirade she was shouting.

"Bella …" I begged as I released her.

She scrambled up and over my reclined body. "Oh, no. Do not say my name. Don't even think it. Have some decency, Edward. You knew how much I loved you. You claim to know now that I'm not over that. Do NOT use my feelings for you against me." Her angry face suddenly crumpled into a mask of pain. "I wouldn't survive it." She whispered through broken sobs.

I sprang up from the sofa and went towards her.

"Bella …" I tried again as I attempted to take her into my arms.

"No!" she shouted at me, holding up her hands as if to ward me off. She stumbled away from me and then made for the bedroom door.

I quickly blocked her way. I had to fix this. I had to do it now.

"Move, Edward," she demanded.

"No," I said, shaking my head emphatically.

"Alice!" she screamed.

"Alice isn't here, Bella. She went hunting a while ago," I informed her quietly.

She stared at me in disbelief, tears streaming down her lovely face. She brought her hands to her face and wiped the tears from each cheek furiously. After a moment, her eyes narrowed and her expression changed to one of irritation. "So, I'm your prisoner?"

"Only for a little while. Only until you keep your promise," I said.

"What promise?" she asked hotly.

"You promised yesterday that we could have a conversation. You agreed to let me explain myself. Please, just hear me out and then I'll let you leave … if that is still what you want." The idea of letting her go pained me but I had to nothing else with which I could bargain.

"Fine. I will listen and then I'll go. I will hold you to your word, Edward." She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at me.

"Please sit," I requested. "Thank you for agreeing to stay and listen."

She moved back to the sofa and sat stiffly with her arms still crossed. She would not look at me. Instead, she focused on the wall to my left.

I wasn't sure where to begin so I chose what I saw as the most logical place. "The night of your eighteenth birthday was when I realized that I couldn't stay."

"Yes," she said quietly, "you said that's when you realized that you were tired of pretending to be something that you're not."

"I remember telling you that but … it was not the truth." I watched her face change from sad to confused. I sighed heavily. "When Jasper tried to hurt you … kill you … I could not forgive myself for letting it happen. I could not believe that I had been selfish enough to put you in such a dangerous situation. I knew that I should remove myself from your life but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It killed me to be away from you even temporarily. When I left you for a short hunting trip, even knowing that I would soon return, I felt like I left my heart behind me. I couldn't imagine leaving you with the intent of never seeing you again. I could not bear the thought.

I paused to gauge her reaction. She was watching me intently but said nothing.

"I had always believed that you would be better off without me. If you had not met me, if you had not loved me, you would have lived a normal human life with your family, a husband who could be a true mate to you, and children. Those notions were always in the back of my mind. After that disaster of a birthday party, I finally convinced myself that it was time to stop putting my selfish desires ahead of your safety and your well being." My voice was rough and my eyes stung with tears I was unable to shed.

"What are you trying to tell me, Edward?" Bella's hands were clenched into fists in her lap. Her eyes were focused on the floor.

"I did not leave you because of boredom. I never stopped wanting you with me. I never stopped loving you. I love you more than anything and I always will." I made my declaration and then held my breath in anticipation of her response.

"I was there, Edward. I saw your face when you left … your eyes …," she rasped. It took a moment before she was able to continue. "Your eyes were cold and empty. If you had any love for me left, I would have seen it."

She did not believe me. "I have a talent for lying, Bella. With my life, it is necessary for survival. Even still, I couldn't fathom how you believed me so quickly. The moment the lie left my lips, you accepted it and it nearly broke me. I knew … even hoped … that you would see through me but you didn't. You knew I loved you, Bella. How could you doubt that?"

She looked at me for a moment and then rolled her eyes and snorted a humorless laugh. "Be serious, Edward. We both knew that one day you would figure out that I wasn't good enough for you. I knew it would kill me when it happened but I hoped that I would have the grace to let you go quietly. I guess I figured I would see it coming and be able to prepare myself. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. I was so pathetic that I declared you the owner of my soul. How melodramatic am I?"

"Bella, first, almost everything you just said is absolutely ludicrous. You are an angel and deserve so much better than me. I have always known this to be true. You are just blind to your own perfection." She snorted again before I continued. "Second, I only wish I had a soul to offer in return. Although, it pales in comparison, my heart … everything I have inside of me for that matter … belongs to you. Always will." My declaration started strong but by the end I could not project my voice louder than a whisper.

"Actions speak louder than words, Edward. You left. You stayed away," she avowed.

"You're right. Actions do speak louder than words," I argued desperately as I paced the room. "Did you ever think it odd that you never had an inkling that anything was wrong until after my brother nearly killed you? Bella, you knew me better than anyone. You said that my feelings for you changed so quickly that you weren't able to prepare yourself. Does that seem like me, Bella? Did I ever seem like someone who falls in and out of love at the drop of a hat? You knew that I was alone for nearly ninety years before I found you and yet you believed that my love for you could die after only a couple of days? You knew me to be obsessively protective of you and yet it didn't occur to you that I suddenly took my self and my whole dangerous vampire family out of your life after you were nearly killed by one of us? Please, Bella, look at the situation logically and I know you will see that my leaving did not make sense for the reasons you believed."

She was again focused on the floor so I could not see her face. I suspected that I was treading dangerously close to insulting her but I needed her to see the real truth. I needed her to believe it. She remained silent except for the ragged sound of her breathing. Her fists were still clenched so tightly that I was beginning to fear that she would cut her palms with her fingernails.

I groaned in frustration. "Bella, I apologize for sounding so critical. I lied with the intent of deceiving you and I can't fault you because I was successful. I just want you to see the holes in my story so you will let yourself believe the truth. Leaving was the most foolish decision that I have ever made. It was a choice I made out of fear and desperation. I knew that my life would be over without you but I could not let you remain in constant jeopardy in which my presence placed you. I never stopped loving you. I left because I loved you so much."

Bella looked up at me then. Her jaw was clenched and her lips were pressed together in a tight line. Her chin was quivering madly and her eyes were filled with tears. "If all of that is true, why did you come back? Isn't it still dangerous? Aren't you still a vampire? You promised you would never haunt my life again. That was what you said, right?"

"Yes, I said that," I admitted regretfully. "From the moment I stepped away from you I fought a constant battle with myself to keep that promise. No matter where I went, you were there waiting for me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw your face. Every day my resolve weakened. Time is supposed to heal all wounds but the urge to see you again only strengthened as the months passed. Finally, I gave up and decided to come and check on you. I thought that I would find you in a normal, happy human life. I hoped that seeing you content would give me the strength to leave and stay away for good."

"You didn't leave," she pointed out quietly.

"No, I did not leave. You were never even supposed to know I was here. I guess it was fate that brought me back at the exact moment of your conversation with Jacob. I doubt anything else would have convinced me so thoroughly that you were not happy without me … that you probably would never move on with someone else. I am ashamed to say that I was relieved. I knew then that I was going to stay but before I could make a decision about how I would approach you, I caught Jacob's scent. You know the rest."

"You'll leave again. The next time you think your "kind" is dangerous to me, you'll leave." She was watching me now, focusing intently on my face. Her posture had relaxed somewhat but her expression was still one of doubt and distress.

"No. Never again. I came to some conclusions last night. I guess the night in jail did exactly what Charlie intended … it gave me an opportunity to consider my actions and the consequences thereof. I left because I thought you would be safer without me but you are in more danger now than ever before. You have become associated with werewolves and there is an obsessed vampire stalking you. I did not take the danger away with me. You are the danger magnet, after all, and I was stupid enough to strip you of your protectors. I will never allow you to be at such risk again." I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. "Of course, there was also my absurd idea that you were be better off with someone other than me … a human male to give you a normal life." I laughed scornfully. "A wise man asked me a question last night. Is there any other man who will treat you better than I will? There may be more deserving men in the world but there is no one who will respect, love, and treasure you that way that I will, if you give me the opportunity. No one else could ever love you like I do. No one else can protect you as well as I can. I won't leave you again, Bella. In all honesty, I don't think I can. Being away from you was too painful and I am more than grateful that I have defensible reasons for staying."

"Where have you been all this time? What have you been doing? What about your distractions?" Bella asked. She had a look of intense concentration. I only hoped that she believed everything that I had told her and she was considering what she would do. _Please forgive me, love._

"Nothing could distract me from the agony of being without you, Bella. I tried tracking for a while but I was not successful. I found out later that I had pursued my quarry to the wrong continent. I guess I don't have a talent for that particular activity." I shook my head in disgust.

"What quarry?" she asked with a frown.

"Victoria," I said with evident distaste.

"Victoria?? Edward, are you insane? You can't go after her alone!" she shouted. "Victoria is vicious and she already blames you for James' death. That's why she's after me. She wants revenge and in her sick mind, killing me would punish you more than hurting you directly."

I clenched my jaw in an effort to control my temper. Victoria would die … soon. "She is right about that. There is nothing she could do to me that would hurt me more than hurting you. Don't worry, I will never allow that to happen. There is no reason for you to worry about me, either. When I find her, I won't be the one who gets hurt."

Bella took a deep breath and looked back down at the floor. "You didn't tell me where you have been."

"I thought I was following her to South America. When I did not find her there, I lost what motivation I had to keep moving." I wondered if I should tell her the rest but kept talking anyway. "I ended up curled up in a ball in the attic of a tenement in Rio. I didn't want to be around the family or anyone else … up there the only company I had were rats and spiders and they weren't interested in talking about my feelings."

Bella choked back a sob and I regretted sharing that piece of information. "How long were you up there?" she asked in a stricken voice.

"I don't really know, love. I lost track of time after a while. I am fine now that I am close to you again. It's all right." I tried to sooth her with my voice.

"I don't understand how my presence makes that much of a difference," she muttered. She spoke in such a low tone that if I had been human, I probably would not have understood the words.

"It makes all the difference in the world. Bella, before I met you I was alone for a long time. I loved my family and there were some moments when I enjoyed my life but I never felt real happiness or fulfillment. All of that changed when you walked into Biology that day. I admit that my first thoughts were not loving in nature but I was completely fascinated by you from the very beginning. Very soon after that, I realized I needed to watch over you and protect you. You gave me a purpose for my life. I had never felt that before. When I recognized my feelings for you, when I admitted that I was completely in love with you, I felt joy for the first time since my human life ended. But this joy was more intense, more real, than anything that I had ever felt before as a human or as a vampire. When you told me that you loved me in return, my life felt complete. I felt whole. Leaving you felt like I was ripping myself apart and leaving the best of me behind. That is why being in your presence makes a difference. If you will forgive me for stealing a rather trite piece of cinema dialogue, you complete me."

Bella smiled for the first time since the conversation started. I thought I might jump for joy.

"I understand feeling incomplete," she said. "For all these months without you, I have had an empty hole in my chest. I haven't been able to breathe since you left." She lowered her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "I can breathe again now. Even if none of this is true, even if you leave again tomorrow, at least I can breathe for the time that you're here."

I watched her sadly. "I will not leave again, Bella. You may not be able to trust that yet but, given time, I will prove it to you. That is, if you let me. Even if you do not allow me back into your life, I will still be here for you. I will never be far away."

"I don't know what to say," Bella whispered.

"Bella, do you still love me?" I asked her as I knelt in front of her. I rested my hands on the sofa on each side of her lap. After a long moment of silence, I softly gripped each of her legs right above her knees and asked again. "Bella, do you love me?"

"Yes," she whispered so softly that even I could barely hear her.

I reach up and lifted her chin so that I could see her eyes as I asked my next questions. "Can you forgive me? Can you ever trust me again?"

Her eyes filled with tears as she responded, "If I could let myself believe all of this, I know I could forgive you but I just don't know if I can. I've spent a long time believing with absolute certainty that you don't love me, Edward. It will be very difficult for me to be certain that the opposite of that is the truth, no matter how much I want to change my mind."

"Will you try?" I begged.

"Yes," she whispered brokenly.

"That is all I can ask," I whispered back.

I knew I was testing whatever luck fate had granted me but I felt myself leaning towards her lips. Bella eyes widened in fear when she realized what was about to happen. As my lips brushed hers softly, she sighed. Her body relaxed and her eyes closed as I continued to drop soft kisses on her full lips. I deepened the kisses slowly, so I wouldn't frighten her further. Her lips moved with mine in perfect rhythm and I thought I might die from the pleasure of it. Suddenly, she broke away and gasped. Her tears began to flow again as she reached up and touched cupped my cheek with her small hand. I leaned into her touch and closed my eyes with a sigh. A sob broke from her lips as she extricated herself from my hold and ran from the room.

I was left on my knees staring at the now empty sofa.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: Apologies for the delay. The blame rests squarely on the poor economy and the mortgage market meltdown. Ugh.**

**Finally, I again feel that urge to put proverbial pen to paper. Thank you, Lynne, for the push.**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

Please don't let this turn into something it's not  
I can only give you everything I've got  
I can't be as sorry as you think I should  
But I still love you more than anyone else could

All that I keep thinking throughout this whole flight  
Is it could take my whole damn life to make this right  
This splintered mast I'm holding on won't save me long  
Because I know fine well that what I did was wrong

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

We have got through so much worse than this before  
What's so different this time that you can't ignore  
You say it is much more than just my last mistake  
And we should spend some time apart for both our sakes

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

And I don't know where to look  
My words just break and melt  
Please just save me from this darkness

And I don't know where to look  
My words just break and melt  
Please just save me from this darkness

"Make This Go On Forever" – Snow Patrol

_Chapter 5 Recap …_

_I knew I was testing whatever luck fate had granted me but I felt myself leaning towards her lips. Bella eyes widened in fear when she realized what was about to happen. As my lips brushed hers softly, she sighed. Her body relaxed and her eyes closed as I continued to drop soft kisses on her full lips. I deepened the kisses slowly, so I wouldn't frighten her further. Her lips moved with mine in perfect rhythm and I thought I might die from the pleasure of it. Suddenly, she broke away and gasped. Her tears began to flow again as she reached up and touched cupped my cheek with her small hand. I leaned into her touch and closed my eyes with a sigh. A sob broke from her lips as she extricated herself from my hold and ran from the room. _

_I was left on my knees staring at the now empty sofa._

Chapter 6

I stared blankly at the empty space before me. I blinked. Bella had been there only a moment before. She had just given me the sweetest of kisses. Now I was kneeling here in stunned silence while she ran away … again.

I was an idiot.

"Bella!" I called as I shook myself from my stupor and headed for the door. I could hear her footsteps rapidly (at least for her) descending the stairs.

I followed her trail down the stairs to the family room and then out the front door. She was stalking down the driveway with her arms were folded severely across her chest. Her head was down and her shoulders slumped as she was muttered angrily to herself, "-stupid, mutinous, vampire-ex-boyfriend, kissing lips should know better."

I pursued her across the front lawn until I was walking soundlessly beside her. "Bella, why are you running from me?" I asked quietly.

Bella, no longer accustomed to the flawlessness of vampire stealth, let out a startled cry and stumbled forward. Knowing that she would inevitably lose her battle with gravity, I wrapped my arms around her waist and kept her upright. She clutched my wrists frantically for a moment before she sighed in relief and relaxed into my embrace.

"Bella, you promised that you would try." I did not really intend to speak to her in a reproachful tone but it was there for her to hear, nonetheless.

Bella quickly extricated herself from my grasp and whirled to face me with a shocked expression on her beautiful face. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and teeth clamped together with a snap. Her full lips were pressed into a hard line for a long moment before she replied angrily, "'Try', yes, I did promise that, but 'try' does not mean that I will fall at your feet in gratitude now that you've deigned to bless me with your presence six months after you told me that you didn't give a crap about me!"

My already scarce patience was being tested sorely. I chose to ignore the fact that her resentment was more than justified. I replied in an equally irate manner. "Well, 'try' certainly doesn't imply that you would flee from me at the first available opportunity!"

Bella was livid. "Oh, don't even go there, Edward! Do not act all righteous and angry. You have no damn right!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of nose with my thumb and forefinger. She was right, of course, but that did nothing to stem my fit of temper. Why was I so angry? I knew this would be difficult before we had even started the conversation. I knew it would not be quick. I knew that I had to be cautious with Bella's feelings and that I needed to keep my hopes in check for my own good. Maybe that was why I was upset now … when Bella had allowed that wonderful kiss, I had thrown caution to the wind. I let my hope surge through me and now I was paying the price with supreme disappointment. I sighed heavily.

"When you said that you would try, what did you mean?" I asked with barely concealed irritation.

"I don't know, Edward!" Bella stated fervently. "I can't deny that I love you and that I want to be with you … I have tried to deny it, believe me! You looked me in the eye and you told me you didn't want me. My life has been a walking nightmare ever since that moment. I can't just snap my fingers and forget. I can't and I won't. I will TRY to forgive you. I will TRY to get past it. I will TRY to live in the current moment rather than reliving the past every minute of every day. I will TRY to focus on looking forward instead of looking back but … "

"Bella … " I began.

"No, Edward. I know you're sorry," Bella said more quietly. She took a deep, calming breath before continuing, "I know that you didn't mean it. I really do believe that here," she said as she pointed to her temple, "but the idea of letting you in again … the thought of pinning all my hopes on you again … that's like giving a gun to a guy who's already shot me once and hoping he doesn't do it again."

She paused in thought before she resumed. "No … actually, it would be more like locking myself in a room with Jasper and opening a vein. He wouldn't intend to hurt me, he wouldn't even want to hurt me, but he would. I know he would. I learned that lesson. You taught me a lesson, too, Edward. You proved that you can walk away from me … you proved that you are able to hurt me in the worst way. Honorable intentions… self sacrificing motivations … whatever. As far as I'm concerned, you nearly killed me once and you're capable of doing it again. I can't unlearn that lesson, Edward. If you want us to have a chance, I have to learn to trust you again."

Again she paused, as if searching for the right words. "It's not going to be easy for me to believe that you won't sacrifice my heart to protect my life. And Edward, believe me, trying to live after having your heart ripped out is in no way preferable to living with the risk of dying."

My previous irritation was quickly forgotten. With every word she spoke, I felt a bit more helpless. "What can I do to prove myself to you, Bella? What can I do to change how you see me?"

"I honestly don't know, Edward," she sighed. She met my eyes for a moment before smiling sadly, "You can only be who you are … beautiful, intelligent, talented, stubborn to a fault, incredibly attentive, and more than a little bit obsessed with my safety."

Bella continued to watch me. Her head was tilted a bit to the side, as she was studying me. She carried on intently, "If I tell you that I need space, you'll just watch me from a distance. If I say we should spend time together, I'll probably never have a minute to myself again. In either scenario, I would just be wondering when your fascination with me would end. I would expect you to get bored after a while and move on to more interesting distractions." She paused for a moment as if gathering her courage, "I think maybe this will be more about us learning to think about things differently. If you want me to believe that you won't leave me for what you think is my own good again then you can't continue to believe that you're the worst thing that could ever happen to me. If you want me to believe that you won't leave, I have to see you stay … for a long time."

"I will never leave again, Bella," I affirmed again. I knew that she had heard my previous declarations but I would persist in repeating this vow as long as it took for her to really listen. "I may never believe that I deserve you but I will never again believe that my absence is better for you than my presence. I … "

Bella's head was already shaking in the negative. "You say that now but what happens the next time I have a life threatening encounter with a vampire or make a new werewolf friend or turn down a date with Mike Newton? Are you going to blame yourself for some imagined negative effect you have on my life? Even if you're right, even if you've changed that attitude, I have to see it to believe it. Finding that trust again won't be easy or quick. You will have to have patience. I do want to believe in you again, Edward." She stopped speaking for a moment and blushed deeply before continuing in breathless voice, "I don't want to live without you anymore."

Hope sprang into my heart yet again. "You will never again have to live without me. I swear it," I averred.

Bella did not reply. She just continued to study my face, her expression unreadable. I wished, for the millionth time, that I could read her mind.

"Is it permissible for me to touch you?" I asked as I reached for her hand, "To hug you? To kiss you? Am I your boyfriend again? Am I your friend with potential for more? Am I just an acquaintance? What am I to you Bella?" I asked. I could not hide the desperation in my voice. "I will be whatever you want me to be for as long as you want but you have to define my starting point. I need to know where I stand." I was praying that my new position in her life was not so relegated that I would never again be able to reach my previous status, much less surpass it. I violently stifled those fears before continuing, "I am terrified that I will misunderstand what you are willing to accept from me and I will end up pushing you further away."

"Edward, I don't think that I'm ready to label THIS," she said while gesturing back and forth with her free hand between the two of us. She was staring at her other hand, still joined with mine, but she did not try to release herself.

"At least tell me what you are willing to accept? Please Bella," I begged softly as I very carefully lifted her chin with my fingers. Bella met my eyes for a fleeting second before lowering her gaze to focus on her feet. I exhaled a defeated sigh before continuing, "I know that you were not ready for what happened upstairs. I am sorry that I pushed you but I can't be sorry for that kiss. I have dreamed about having you in my arms again for months. I have very nearly driven myself insane with thoughts of being with you so it is impossible for me to regret holding you or touching you. However, I do not want to do anything else that might push you farther away from me. I want to have some hope of holding you again. I need your guidance, Bella, so that I do not make another such mistake."

"It wasn't only you in that kiss, Edward. I'm pretty sure that I was a willing participant there for a minute." She raised her eyes to my face and smirked. At my answering smile, she rolled her eyes and snorted. "Yeah, well, I admit that I wasn't exactly forced but that doesn't mean that I think it was my smartest move ever."

Her expression became serious again before she continued, "I panicked when I realized that I was heading down the same road as before. Being dazzled by you leads to kissing you … which then leads to thinking about you all the time and then waiting to see you … then I'll just end up hoping for you to come through my window at night. I know you'll come and I'll get used to it and then I'll start to depend on you again. Where does that leave me?" she demanded. With each word she had spoken, her volume had increased and her expression had become more frustrated. By the end, she was out of breath.

"With me," I replied evenly. She had just voiced my every desire … Bella wanting me, trusting me, depending on me more than anyone else. My fondest wish was for Bella to have those expectations of me again.

"Edward," she groaned. "It can't be that easy. I … I doubt you too much."

My breath hitched. I already knew that her trust in me was broken but hearing those words come from her lips was like a knife in my heart. I looked away quickly. I squeezed Bella's hand gently before I released it from my grasp. I raked my hands through my hair as I took a step away from her. "I know it isn't enough but I am so sorry," I rasped.

"Edward," she said quietly. I felt her take my cold hand back into the warmth of both of hers but I still could not look at her. "I do believe you but … before, I believed in you, too. I mean, I had insecurities and I thought that you would leave eventually but I think I expected to be okay with it. That was my own stupidity and I can't blame you for that part of this."

"There is no part of this that is not my fault," I said wearily.

"We both have to accept some responsibility; although, I will admit that you get the mountain lion's share," she said with a little laugh. I was cheered, not so much by her joke, but by the fact that she made the effort. "Six months ago, I had no doubts that you loved me and I knew, KNEW, that you would never purposefully hurt me. I want to know that again. When I kissed you I thought I did but right in the middle of it I felt this huge fear. I wanted to keep kissing you, Edward, but I couldn't. One part of me wants to be with you more than anything but another part me feels this overwhelming need to run from you. I think I finally developed that instinct for self-preservation that I was lacking before. Until I stop feeling the urge to flee, we can't be what we were before because I won't be who I was before."

"Bella, we are both different now. Neither of us will ever forget the pain that we have been through during our separation. Neither of us will ever be who we were before. Does that mean that we can never be together again? Please don't say that what this all means …" I did not want to think that she was trying to tell me to give up. I would never be able to let go of her. I began to envision to rest of my existence, watching Bella's life unfold from a distance. I would watch as she finished school and pursued a career. I would watch as she made a family with someone else. I would watch her grow old and die. Then I would follow her. If she meant that we would never be together in this life, then my life was over.

"That's not what I want it to mean," she said. She bent forward just little in an attempt to look into my still lowered eyes. Again, I smiled at her effort to reach me. "Maybe it means that we have to get to know each other again. I have to get to know you as a person with imperfections just like the rest of us. You need to learn to see me as an adult who has the ability and the right to make her own decisions … even if those decisions put me in danger.

I lifted my face in search of her beautiful, brown eyes. She was watching me with tearful concern and I marveled at her selflessness. After all of the pain that I had caused her, she was worried about me. It occurred to me suddenly that Bella's empathetic response to my pain gave me an unfair advantage in this discussion. Could I live with that? Could I accept her acquiescence to my requests if it was based solely on pity? I wanted to say 'yes'. I wanted to say that I needed to use whatever advantage I could for just a chance with her ... not a guarantee, just a chance. If she would give me the opportunity, then I would do everything in my power to make her happy. I wanted to convince myself that the end would justify the means but … no, I would never be able to live with that.

"You are so good, so kind hearted," I said as I caressed her cheek. I stepped closer to her and carefully rested my forehead against hers. "You always care about the needs of others before your own. It doesn't even occur to you to seek vengeance for the pain I have caused you by hurting me in return."

"You've already been hurt, Edward. I would never want you to suffer … not if I could help it," she whispered thought her tears.

I lifted my head and backed away from her slightly, keeping my hand on her cheek. "My life is not complete without you, Bella, but I have been so very selfish with you. While there is nothing that I want more than to be with you, I could never live with myself if I knew you were accepting all of this just to make me happy. Do you truly wish for us to try again? I need you to make this choice for both of us … but, please, make the decision based only on what is best for you. Your happiness is the most important thing to me now. If being with me is what will make you happiest, then I want to do whatever it will take to make that happen. If you can't be truly happy with me, then I will accept it, I promise. This is up to you. What do you want for us, Bella? "

"Edward, I can't … " she began.

"No, Bella. I honestly cannot be happy unless I know that you are. Please, this choice has to be yours," I said gravely.

She studied my face for an eternity of seconds before taking a breath to speak, "In my heart, I want the same thing that I've always wanted. I want to be with you … forever … but every time I let myself believe that it's possible I start to freak out. I'm scared, Edward. If you left … ," her voice broke.

"If I ever have to leave in the future, I will take you with me. If it is within my power and it is what you want, we will never be separated again," I stated firmly.

"I wouldn't survive it, Edward. If I let you back in and you left again anyway, I wouldn't live through it. I don't want to be 'friends' because there's no way that you and I could be anything less than we were … are. We have so much baggage now that we never had before. I have trust issues and, in a way, so do you." Bella rolled her eyes at my incredulous expression. "You do Edward! You don't have faith in me to make good decisions. You think that you are better qualified to know what's best for me and that just tells me that you don't trust me. I know you're a lot older but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're wiser!"

"I don't disagree with you, love. If there is anything that I have learned in the last few months, it is that I have a tenuous grasp on the concept of wisdom." I frowned at the memory of my foolishness.

"Then you know that we both have a lot to overcome. " She paused with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I don't know what to call us right now but I do know where I want us to end up. I want you to be mine and I want to be yours. I just don't know how to get us there or how long it will take. Is that enough for you? I know you're worried about scaring me off and I can't promise I won't freak again but I will promise not to shut you out without talking to you. If you go too far, I'll tell you. If I'm scared, I'll let you know. "

She lowered her head to hide her expression but not so quickly that I could not see the smile on her face. The she said, "If I'm angry, I promise to yell at you. You won't have to wonder what I'm thinking … at least not when it's important."

She looked back up at me with a timid smile. My answering smile was totally unrestrained. "I will always wonder what you are thinking, love. I will always wonder because I will always be near you. Thank you, Bella. Thank you for giving me this chance."

"_**We**_ are giving _**us**_ a chance, Edward. We both want it and we're both going to work for it," she said forcefully. She seemed to realize how dictatorial she sounded as her expression changed from hotly determined to slightly embarrassed. With a wry smile, she then asked, "Aren't we?"

We most definitely are," I declared. I could not stop smiling. I no longer had any doubt that Bella would be mine again. Bella wanted us to be together again. 'She wants me!' I was shouting merrily inside my head. She would always have what she wanted because I would always see to it.

A/N: Have mercy, this was a hard one. I know where we're going now so my next update should not be such a chore. I foresee five additional chapters unless some violent inspiration strikes me and the story spirals out of control. You never know when that will happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: The Twilight universe is the brilliant creation of Ms. Stephanie Meyer. I am just twisting her vision a bit for my own amusement.**

Chapter 7

"Well," Bella said nervously, "what now?"

What now? I had not considered a specific plan of action beyond convincing her to accept my suit. We had already determined that we could not resume our previous relationship so a new strategy was most certainly required.

"I intend to court you," I announced firmly as I took her hand into mine and began to lead her back to the house.

Bella snorted. It was a delicate little sound but it was definitely a snort. I chuckled at her amusement.

"Court me?" she asked incredulously. Her brow was knitted in adorable confusion.

"Yes," I replied with conviction. We arrived at the entrance to the house and I sat on the front steps. I gestured for Bella to join me.

"Don't you have to ask my father's permission for that?" she asked with a smirk as she sat beside me on the step.

I could feel the look of consternation on my face. "We may have to amend that rule a little. Charlie is not likely to grant his permission. I have already informed him of my intentions. That will have to do for now, I suppose."

"You informed him of your intentions? What exactly did you tell him? Did you tell him that you are staying in town?" she asked curiously.

I rolled my eyes. "That conversation was more about my refusal to leave than my intention to stay. He was quite determined that I should leave town without seeing you, now or ever."

"I gave Charlie a pretty hard time for a few months after you left," she said with guilt in her voice. "He's probably really worried about my reaction to seeing you again."

"Charlie doesn't think that you gave him a hard time. You were suffering a great deal and he not only understands but he empathizes. On some level, he relates what you went through to his life after your mother left." I took a deep breath and gave her hand a squeeze. "I saw his memories and I heard his thoughts about the last few months. You were in so much pain, Bella."

My voice broke at this point. I became even more crestfallen when Bella gently extracted her hand from mine. I needn't have worried as she then scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulders to hold her more tightly against my side.

"I forgive you, Edward," she whispered in my ear.

I was not able to suppress the sob that erupted from me. I covered my mouth with my free hand and tried to keep my emotions in check. I knew that I would never deserve this angel holding me. It was not possible for anyone to deserve her.

"Thank you," I whispered brokenly. "I promise that I will never cause you to regret that."

Bella tightened her arms around me for a moment and nodded. I knew she was not yet able to express confidence in my promises but I had hope that her trust in me would someday be restored.

"Charlie could never blame you for your distress," I continued after a moment. "He places the blame for your pain squarely where it belongs, on me. I owe your father almost as much penance as I owe to you. Considering what I now know about our time apart, I find it difficult to believe that he did not shoot me at first sight. I intend to have a long conversation or two with the chief and I hope that I can at least alleviate his fears about the future. I have accepted that I may never be able to gain his forgiveness for the past."

"Charlie may be a bit more reluctant to listen than I was," she stated seriously.

I chuckled. "You were reluctant?"

"Sarcasm duly noted, Mr. Cullen," Bella said lightly with a raised brow.

"Just a little," I replied with a grin.

Bella continued to sit with her arms around me and her head resting on my shoulder. I was almost entirely content. Almost. There were still so many questions that I needed to ask but I was loath to disturb this peaceful moment.

"Bella?" I asked softly.

She raised her head to look into my eyes. I leaned over and softly kissed her temple before resting my forehead against the side of her face.

"Bella, I need to ask you about what happened yesterday," I began carefully. I wanted her to feel free to be honest with me rather than becoming defensive. "In the moments before I approached you and Jacob, he was remembering that you nearly drowned that morning after jumping from a cliff into the ocean."

Bella's hold on me tightened but she said nothing.

I continued in the most soothing tone I could muster, "Later, at the hospital, Dr. Carter implied that he treats you regularly for serious injuries. I need to know, Bella, how seriously have you been hurt? Have you been hurting yourself … purposefully?"

Bella took a deep breath before responding. "I guess that would depend on how you look at it."

"Oh, God," I moaned. "Charlie definitely should have shot me."

"That wouldn't have helped. You just would have had to explain why the bullet didn't hurt you," Bella said with a nervous laugh.

I pulled away from her slightly and shot her a dubious look.

Bella released her hold on me and turned to face me directly before she spoke. "Okay, that wasn't all that funny but, Edward, I promise that it's not what you're thinking. I wasn't trying to kill myself or hurt myself. Sometimes I did get hurt … that's just how some things turned out."

"Bella, love, what happened?" I knew I sounded desperate.

"Would you believe I was trying to induce hallucinations?" she asked hesitantly.

"Bella, please …" I began before she interrupted me.

"I was being serious that time, Edward," she asserted.

"What do you mean?" I asked with alarm.

"The first time was an accident, sort of," she began. She paused to gauge my reaction. When I did not speak, she continued. "It had been a couple of months, more or less, since you left and Charlie was bugging me to spend time with friends. Not having any 'friends' who I really wanted to spend time with I just took the first opportunity that presented itself. I made plans with Jessica to see a movie in Port Angeles."

She did not seem anxious to continue her story.

"What happened in Port Angeles, Bella?" I prompted.

She chewed on her lip nervously for a moment before carrying on. "While we were there, I saw a group of guys that I thought I remembered. When I was walking over to them, I heard your voice. It wasn't like I was imagining it or remembering it. It was like you were standing right beside me speaking into my ear. You were telling me not to approach them. When I did it anyway, I started hearing your angry voice. I realized that you weren't there but I had no idea what was happening. It turned out the guys weren't who I thought they were but I got the idea that in certain situations, maybe I could trigger your voice in my head."

"You heard my voice in your mind?" I asked carefully. My mind was frantically trying to process this information.

"Yes," she replied. Her expression was expectant but fearful. She was waiting for my reaction but was not at all sure she wanted to see it. I did not yet know how to react so I moved on to my next question.

"What does that have to do with your injuries?" I asked.

"Turns out," Bella responded, "that the more dangerous the situation, the more likely I was to hear you. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush or something but whenever I did something really stupid, I could hear you yelling at me the way you used to when I did something risky."

"Wait," I interrupted. "If this only happened when you were doing something dangerous, why did it happen in Port Angeles? Who did you think those men were, Bella?"

"I thought they were the guys who tried to hurt me that first night that you found me in Port Angeles," she said.

"And you were approaching them?" I demanded angrily. "Why would you do something so reckless?"

"See, now that right there is the voice I heard in my head," she said dryly.

"Bella! Why?" I insisted impatiently.

"Because I wanted to break my promise to you! You made me promise to be safe even while you were breaking your promise not to leave me. I didn't really want to get hurt, I just didn't want to honor that pledge." Her face was reddening with anger or embarrassment, I could not tell which.

"So you were going to get hurt or killed to spite me?" I asked skeptically.

"I said it was idiotic. I know that now, and I realized it then to some degree, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly," she said with a grimace.

I could not suppress the growl that I emitted. "What else did you do?" I asked gruffly.

"On purpose? I learned how to ride motorcycles." She turned her face from me then but continued to speak as she stared out over the front lawn. "It worked for a while. When I got good enough, I guess it wasn't dangerous anymore and your voice stopped. That's what the cliff diving was about yesterday. I had seen the boys at La Push do it and I wanted to try it. I wasn't thinking about the water, just the fall. Jake pulled me out in time."

Bella turned back to me with tired eyes, her expression apprehensive. I wanted to know why Jacob Black had allowed Bella to put herself in such danger but I knew that anything I said in that vein would be construed as an accusation against him. I decided to keep those thoughts to myself for now. I remembered Bella's strange initial reaction to my appearance yesterday.

"Yesterday when I found you and Jacob, you looked directly at me but acted as though I was not there. I wondered about that at the time. What were you thinking?" I queried.

"After jumping yesterday, when I hit the water, I didn't just hear you. I saw you, too. You were pleading with me to fight, to swim, not to die. When I saw you at my house, I thought maybe the hallucinations were getting worse." At this point, Bella exhaled a tiny laugh. "Of course, I was kind of happy about that. I thought if I got to see you, too, then maybe it would be like you were really here. Lord knows what I might have done to trigger getting to see you."

I shuddered at the thought. I took her hand back into mine before speaking. I kept my voice as level as I could manage. "You said that the motorcycles and the cliff diving were 'on purpose'. What else happened to trigger the voice?"

"Not 'the' voice, it was your voice. Always your voice," she said in a dispirited tone. "It was strange. Your voice always knew when there was danger, even when I didn't. I went to our meadow and found Laurent there. The last I heard of him prior to that was that he had become a vegetarian but your voice knew that he was dangerous. He would have killed me if Jake's pack hadn't found us. They killed him."

"Why was he here? What did he say to you?" I asked.

"He was scouting for Victoria. She plans to kill me to punish you for James' death. An eye for an eye, a mate for a mate …" Bella frowned. "She didn't know that you had left me."

I was not surprised by this news. I knew of Victoria's presence from Jacob's thoughts yesterday. I just had not known why she was pursuing Bella until now. I was incensed and more than a little frightened. "I will not let her hurt you, Bella."

"The pack has been keeping watch over me and Charlie. Every time that she's come close, they've chased her off. She's gotten away from them so far, though." Bella stopped to ponder this for a moment before continuing, "Can we not talk about this anymore?"

"We don't have to, if you would rather not," I responded. I had the distinct impression that there were more instances where my voice warned of unexpected danger. I wanted to know about those occurrences as well but there was no point in pressuring her.

"I would like to speak to the wolves about Victoria soon. Perhaps they would be willing to share information," I speculated.

She snorted again. "Even if they're not willing to share, all you've have to do is bring it up and you'll hear everything they know in their thoughts."

I gave her a wan smile. "Regardless, I will ask first. It is only polite."

Bella smiled sadly. "How polite are you being right now?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I responded in confusion.

"I've just told you that I hear disembodied voices in my head and you've barely reacted. Are you just trying to keep me calm until you can have me committed or are you biding your time until Carlisle gets here with the drugs?" Bella seemed resigned to an unsympathetic reaction from me.

"Bella," I began softly. I was now holding both of her hands in both of mine. I caressed her knuckles with my thumbs in an effort to soothe her as I continued to speak, "I don't know what caused your experience with my voice but I do not think that you are mentally ill ... far from it, actually. You and I have a deep connection, deeper than I ever thought possible. When I was in South America, I could not close my eyes without seeing your face. You were always calling to me, beckoning me home. My conscious actions were so at odds with my most cherished desires that I could not function at all. The only thing I could manage was to curl up and hide from life. I can only assume that you were going through a similar experience and your mind found a way for you to function without me."

Bella was watching me intently as I continued. "That is the most plausible explanation that I have. When I try to mull other possibilities, I continually come back to the connection between us being something much _more _than it seems. That theory is just too much to contemplate at the moment."

"So you don't think I'm crazy?" Bella marveled.

"No, you are not crazy. You just love me so much more than I could ever deserve," I answered.

Bella's answering blush was absolutely beautiful.

"Is it completely ridiculous of me to be a bit glad that a part of me was still here with you?" I asked guiltily. "You were in tremendous pain, almost constant danger, and I'm so selfish that I am happy that it was _my_ voice you heard when you needed comfort or protection."

"It's no more ridiculous than me liking the fact that you thought about me while you were away," she replied with a hesitant smile.

I lifted her hands to my lips and placed a gentle kiss on each. "I missed you so very much, Bella."

Bella's eyes filled with tears again but she smiled when she said, "I missed you, too, Edward."

All I wanted to do at that moment was to hold her and to kiss her again. I had promised that I would not pressure her but the urge was too strong to suppress. Even as I was arguing with myself, my body began to lean towards her. "Bella," I whispered with longing.

Bella's eyes widened as she sensed my intent. I could hear her heart pounding with either anticipation or fear. I chose to believe it was anticipation.

I leaned closer, my eyes trained on her full lips.

'_Edward!_' Alice's voice rang through my brain. '_Don't press your luck!_' I quickly withdrew from Bella, dropping her hands back into her lap. Without the lure of Bella's lips as a distraction, I could clearly hear Alice approaching the house from the forest. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked timidly.

"Alice," I practically growled.

"Oh," Bella replied with a nervous laugh.

I rolled my eyes and slowly stood from my seat on the front steps. Bella accepted the hand that I then offered to assist her in rising. After she was on her feet, she gave my hand a gentle squeeze and peered at me playfully through lowered lashes, her bottom lip jutting out just so. My heart would have skipped a beat if it were possible. I stepped closer to her and bent forward slowly in search of a kiss.

"Where is she?" Bella asked a little breathlessly as she backed a step away from my advance.

I raised a brow in exasperation. '_She's going to make you work for it, Edward_." I could hear Alice's tinkling laughter ringing in my mind. '_That old-fashioned charm of yours is a wee bit rusty. If you're going to court her properly, you'll have to loosen up a lot. Have fun with this, brother dear. You can be all broody later!_'

Bella was watching me expectantly, waiting for my response to her question. Her eyes were full of mischief. She knew exactly what she was doing and I found that I did not mind a bit. I had never had the pleasure of pursuing an agreeably reluctant romantic quarry and I found the idea very appealing. If Bella needed time to build trust, I would give her all the time necessary. I would just concentrate on making that time enjoyable for both of us.

"Alice?" Bella asked again.

I pointed to the edge of the forest to our left, using the motion of my arm as an opportunity to sidle up to closer to Bella. "She will come from right over there," I said softly directly into her ear. I did not even try to hide the satisfied smirk on my lips as I watched her shiver. Her skin broke into gooseflesh and her cheeks flamed.

Yes, this was going to be fun.


End file.
